With barely 2 weeks of tedium left until the start of what I reckon will be a barnstormer of a season, I thought I'd pass some time by asking:
What is your best combined Spurs XI from the PL era?
After much deliberation, I'd go for:
GK - Hugo Lloris
We've had some top quality keepers over the years. I was a massive fan of Neil Sullivan and adored Robbo, but Hugo - despite not knowing what a near post is and having similar distribution accuracy to a FedEx trainee, he is by far and away the best shot stopper we've had in the PL era. Add to this the fact the he is truly perfectly suited to the overall system and its a no brainer.
LB - Christian Ziege
SUCH a tough one this. We've been blessed with some truly special players at LB. My heart said Benny or Rose but the former never quite fulfilled his potential here and the latter, despite an incredible season, still has a way to go until he fulfils his. Ziege was a much needed signing at the time, addressing a position that we were desperately weak at. His dead ball skills were of the quality that apparently isn't encouraged anymore at Spurs, and was a top class defender on top of that.
CB - Ledley King
Zero explanation needed here.
CB - Toby Alderweireld
This was another horrendously hard decision. It honestly would've been Campbellend until he did the unthinkable and unforgivable. Toby is the only player to 'make' my team after just one year in the shirt, but such was his impact on the side that I made the painful decision to overlook Mabbut and include our Belgian cucumber.
RB - Stephen Carr
Yes, Kyle had a mightily impressive season last year and 3 years prior to that, but the reality is that the Irishman literally carried the team through some dark, dark days. I was utterly devastated when he moved to the Toon, not only because his command of that flank would be irreplaceable (and basically was until Kyle's arrival), but because it was basically a statement that said 'I love this club but I can't take the **** any longer'. His move was a damning reflection of how low we'd sunk and was one that shocked a lot of the fans. Top, top quality player.
DM - Eric Dier
It's amazing to think that such a young player, after a single year in this position, stands head and shoulders above the long list of holding mids who have graced our club in the PL era. He offers so much defensively but is also so comfortable on the ball and has a real eye for goal. Massive, massive future awaits.
DM - Luka Modric
Such an easy decision. The little magician was the cog around which everything else revolved during a period that saw us produce some of the best football in the world and exceed all expectations in our maiden CL voyage. One of the few 'big money' signings we made in the PL era who was worth every penny and more.
LM - David Ginola
A sensational signing whose arrival I didn't quite appreciate the absurdity of at such a young age. A player who had helped Newcastle to almost their first PL title, who was courted quite openly throughout that summer by Barcelona yet ended up at lowly perennial underachievers Tottenham Hotspur. Carried us on his beautifully tanned shoulders to safety in that dreadfull season under Gross. Produced some of the finest moments of magic and flare for a club renowned for valuing style over substance. Carried us again to our first major trophy of the PL era...I will never forgive Graham for the way in which he ostracised Ginola. Like VDV, seemed born to play in a Spurs shirt and never quite managed to replicate his form from the moment he took it off.
CAM - Gareth Bale
Apart from being utterly mesmerising to watch in full flow, to me Bale will always hold a special place in my heart as he demonstrated that the club had finally learned to do something it had struggled with for decades if not more: to identify young talent, sign that talent for a reasonable fee, develop and coach that talent into a world class performer. Bale's development in so many ways reflected the incredible progress we were making off the pitch through the new training ground and academy - both of which now mean that we can compete with teams who blow us out of the water financially.
RAM - Darren Anderton
My absolute favourite player growing up. Every playground game, every kick about in the park, every shirt I scrimped and saved to buy, I was Dazza. Vision, passing, stamina, poise, two footed...Glenn Hoddle himself once said that Anderton would've been the most complete midfielder in the country if not the world had he not had the injury problems. Heartbroken when he left and furious when it was leaked that most of his injuries were due to Francis and others rushing him back too early. Disgusting waste of a talent but at the same time the fact that the club was pushing him to play so much only serves to reinforce just how quality he was.
ST - Harry Kane
The hardest decision of them all. In choosing Harry, I had to conciously ignore Sheringham, Klinnsman and Berbatov - all of whom were sheer class. For me though, Harry has achieved as much as those luminaries of our front line did, but at a far younger age. He is the ultimate team player and worked so, so hard to get to where he is. Unique in that he is the first product of our academy who looks set to become 'world class'.
So, my pick:
Lloris
Carr King Alderweireld Ziege
Dier Modric
Anderton Bale Ginola
Kane
Looking at it, that team would probably beat everyone 5-3 and win the league by February.
Intrigued to hear your opinions!
What is your best combined Spurs XI from the PL era?
After much deliberation, I'd go for:
GK - Hugo Lloris
We've had some top quality keepers over the years. I was a massive fan of Neil Sullivan and adored Robbo, but Hugo - despite not knowing what a near post is and having similar distribution accuracy to a FedEx trainee, he is by far and away the best shot stopper we've had in the PL era. Add to this the fact the he is truly perfectly suited to the overall system and its a no brainer.
LB - Christian Ziege
SUCH a tough one this. We've been blessed with some truly special players at LB. My heart said Benny or Rose but the former never quite fulfilled his potential here and the latter, despite an incredible season, still has a way to go until he fulfils his. Ziege was a much needed signing at the time, addressing a position that we were desperately weak at. His dead ball skills were of the quality that apparently isn't encouraged anymore at Spurs, and was a top class defender on top of that.
CB - Ledley King
Zero explanation needed here.
CB - Toby Alderweireld
This was another horrendously hard decision. It honestly would've been Campbellend until he did the unthinkable and unforgivable. Toby is the only player to 'make' my team after just one year in the shirt, but such was his impact on the side that I made the painful decision to overlook Mabbut and include our Belgian cucumber.
RB - Stephen Carr
Yes, Kyle had a mightily impressive season last year and 3 years prior to that, but the reality is that the Irishman literally carried the team through some dark, dark days. I was utterly devastated when he moved to the Toon, not only because his command of that flank would be irreplaceable (and basically was until Kyle's arrival), but because it was basically a statement that said 'I love this club but I can't take the **** any longer'. His move was a damning reflection of how low we'd sunk and was one that shocked a lot of the fans. Top, top quality player.
DM - Eric Dier
It's amazing to think that such a young player, after a single year in this position, stands head and shoulders above the long list of holding mids who have graced our club in the PL era. He offers so much defensively but is also so comfortable on the ball and has a real eye for goal. Massive, massive future awaits.
DM - Luka Modric
Such an easy decision. The little magician was the cog around which everything else revolved during a period that saw us produce some of the best football in the world and exceed all expectations in our maiden CL voyage. One of the few 'big money' signings we made in the PL era who was worth every penny and more.
LM - David Ginola
A sensational signing whose arrival I didn't quite appreciate the absurdity of at such a young age. A player who had helped Newcastle to almost their first PL title, who was courted quite openly throughout that summer by Barcelona yet ended up at lowly perennial underachievers Tottenham Hotspur. Carried us on his beautifully tanned shoulders to safety in that dreadfull season under Gross. Produced some of the finest moments of magic and flare for a club renowned for valuing style over substance. Carried us again to our first major trophy of the PL era...I will never forgive Graham for the way in which he ostracised Ginola. Like VDV, seemed born to play in a Spurs shirt and never quite managed to replicate his form from the moment he took it off.
CAM - Gareth Bale
Apart from being utterly mesmerising to watch in full flow, to me Bale will always hold a special place in my heart as he demonstrated that the club had finally learned to do something it had struggled with for decades if not more: to identify young talent, sign that talent for a reasonable fee, develop and coach that talent into a world class performer. Bale's development in so many ways reflected the incredible progress we were making off the pitch through the new training ground and academy - both of which now mean that we can compete with teams who blow us out of the water financially.
RAM - Darren Anderton
My absolute favourite player growing up. Every playground game, every kick about in the park, every shirt I scrimped and saved to buy, I was Dazza. Vision, passing, stamina, poise, two footed...Glenn Hoddle himself once said that Anderton would've been the most complete midfielder in the country if not the world had he not had the injury problems. Heartbroken when he left and furious when it was leaked that most of his injuries were due to Francis and others rushing him back too early. Disgusting waste of a talent but at the same time the fact that the club was pushing him to play so much only serves to reinforce just how quality he was.
ST - Harry Kane
The hardest decision of them all. In choosing Harry, I had to conciously ignore Sheringham, Klinnsman and Berbatov - all of whom were sheer class. For me though, Harry has achieved as much as those luminaries of our front line did, but at a far younger age. He is the ultimate team player and worked so, so hard to get to where he is. Unique in that he is the first product of our academy who looks set to become 'world class'.
So, my pick:
Lloris
Carr King Alderweireld Ziege
Dier Modric
Anderton Bale Ginola
Kane
Looking at it, that team would probably beat everyone 5-3 and win the league by February.
Intrigued to hear your opinions!
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