FourFourTwo UK – September 2019

FFTVERDICT

TheElmhurston

LordshipLane– the

onlydesignated

awaypubnear

thestadium– has

multipleSkyscreens

anda decent-value

pint(forLondon).

@TheTottenhamWay

is yourplacefor

a sardonictakeon

Tottenham’sfortunes

• nottomention
  Spurs/Simpsons/
  Office-themed
  crossovercontent.

At 65 metresfrom

endtoend,the

GoalLinebar

tuckedbeneaththe

SouthStandis the

UK’slongestbar.

Thenewstadium’ssausagerolls

arehighlyrecommended,asis

ChickKingtheothersideofthe

HighRoad– bepreparedtoqueue.

Youmayaswellstickaroundafter

thegame– youwon’tbeona trainor

Tubeanytimesoon.Thegroundhas

improved;thetransportlinkshaven’t.

FourFourTwo Season Preview 2019-20 37

HARRYWINKS

Yes,theotherHarry.A fully-firingKaneis nigh-on

unstoppable,butwithoutWinks’patientprobing

andmetronomicmasteryinmidfield,Spurscan

lookslowandponderous,evenagainstweaker

opposition.LikeKane,hejustneedstostayfit...

KEY PLAYER

3

RD

VIEW FROM THE STAn DS

TOM HAYWARD @TOMFOINS

This season will be different

because we’ll be in one home

stadium for the entirety of it, and

playing with our first new signing

in 18 months [Tanguy Ndombele].

Our most underrated player is

Dele Alli, believe it or not. He isn’t

seen in the light he should be – he

is still young and has numbers to

rival some Premier League strikers.

Barring injuries, he could be top of

Real Madrid’s shopping list in 2020.

The best away fans are Everton’s,

for turning a dead rubber into a bit

of a party on the final day of last

season. Also, Manchester United’s

are always loud, if nowhere near

as funny as they think they are.

The player I’d happily drive to

another club is Erik Lamela, who

is a real waste of time and energy

now – seldom fit, and when he is,

it takes him five or six games to

get going, by which time he has

picked up another knock. I really

rooted for him at first – and I still

do, to a point – but we’ve got big

boy stuff to do now rather than

babysit the Argentine Anderton.

The best away ground is Wolves’.

The pantomime villain will be

Mike Dean. Can you even imagine

the drama that he will draw out

of a pitchside VAR consultation?

The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is

that the miracles he achieved last

season, making the top four and

the Champions League final with

a squad that started small and

ended even smaller, show we need

to give him more tools to do his

job. Mauricio Pochettino will win

his first trophy somewhere – we

need to make sure it’s at Spurs.

We’ll finish 3rd.

MATCHDAY PACK

FIVE-POIn T PLAn

1

MAKE HOME FEEL LIKE HOME

Early signs were positive, but Spurs
will start 2019-20 on the back of
three winless games at their new
stadium. It has the potential to be an
intimidating arena, but the players
must do their bit – not only the fans.

2

SORT OUT THE FULL-BACKS

Although it seems a lifetime ago
that Spurs had the best full-backs
in the Premier League, it was
only 2016-17. Kyle Walker and Danny
Rose were integral to the way Mauricio
Pochettino’s title-chasing side played.
Since the sale of Walker, full-back has
been the real weak spot (well, spots).
While Rose has shown signs of at least
partially recovering from his dip in form,
Kieran Trippier wasn’t really able to
match Walker’s impact on the right.
Identifying long-term replacements for
both would help the side restore some
much-needed balance, width and pace.

3

FIND A NEW AND

IMPROVED NANDO

Fernando Llorente may not have
been a huge success in N17, but
in the latter stages of the 2018-19
Champions League campaign his mere
presence was crucial to Tottenham
reaching the final. Although it wasn’t
enough to earn the Basque a new deal,
it did show Spurs the benefits of being
able to go more direct. It’s just a shame
Llorente could barely break into a sprint.
Bringing in another burly striker will add
an extra dimension to Spurs’ attack,
as well as easing the burden on Kane.

4

MAXIMISE THE ACADEMY

Oliver Skipp, 18, showed signs of
great promise when he was given
the opportunity to strut his stuff
in the first team last term, and he will
have learned more in 402 minutes than
he would have done in 402 matches
with the under-23s. Tottenham don’t
have a huge squad, and giving minutes
to their young players now could prove
hugely beneficial further down the line.

5

WIN A TROPHY...

You often wonder whether this is
actually the aim at Spurs. Winning
something would thrill the fans,
lift the players and silence a few cynics,
even if it’s ‘only’ the FA Cup (which the
club now haven’t won for 28 years).

AWAY PUB

SIGn ATURE DISH WHILE YOU’RE HERE...

DID YOU MUSTFOLLOW

K nOW...?

SEASOn PREVIEW

AUGUST

10 Aston Villa (h)

17 Man City (a)

25 Newcastle (h)

SEPTEMBER

1 Arsenal (a)

14 Crystal Palace (h)

21 Leicester (a)

28 Southampton (h)

OCTOBER

5 Brighton (a)

19 Watford (h)

26 Liverpool (a)

NOVEMBER

2 Everton (a)

9 Sheffield United (h)

23 West Ham (a)

30 Bournemouth (h)

DECEMBER

3 Man United (a)

7 Burnley (h)

14 Wolves (a)

21 Chelsea (h)

26 Brighton (h)

28 Norwich (a)

JANUARY

1 Southampton (a)

11 Liverpool (h)

18 Watford (a)

22 Norwich (h)

FEBRUARY

1 Man City (h)

8 Aston Villa (a)

22 Chelsea (a)

29 Wolves (h)

MARCH

7 Burnley (a)

14 Man United (h)

21 West Ham (h)

APRIL

4 Sheffield United (a)

11 Everton (h)

18 Bournemouth (a)

25 Arsenal (h)

MAY

2 Newcastle (a)

9 Leicester (h)

17 Crystal Palace (a)

FIXTURES

Bringing it back home,

they are the most likely

‘Big Two’ challengers.