Liking the new style. There'll be many teams wanting to take those trophies out of your hands so you must keep improving. Good luck for the new season mate 
Tottenham Hotspur: Back To Basics
- POSTS126
- VIEWS38036
Thanks guys! I'm gonna use it as a more personal insight into the club; i'll still have news articles, and monthly roundups; but Ossie'll be giving you his thoughts every month!
Spurs Release 2014/15 Home And Away Kits
League Champions Tottenham Hotspur have today announced their new kits for the coming season. Manufactured by Adidas, and sponsored by AIA, who sponsored the sides' Europa League kits last season, the new deals are reported to be worth around £35million a season for the next five years, with the retail price around £40 for an adult shirt, and £25 for a child.
The Kits do not deviate much from the side's traditional colouring, and both kits feature navy blue shorts and socks, with white flashes on both.
Fans all around the world have flocked online and to their local club stores to buy the new shirts, with the most popular shirt names being Soldado and Ardilles, in homage to the clubs' star striker and manager who brought home two trophies last season. As the club gear up for the World Cup and their Pre-Season tours of both Brazil and China, fans are eager to wear the new kit with pride, and the club estimate their merchandising income for last month is around £1million.
Jese: This Is My Year
http://kubadda.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Jes%C3%BD-9.jpgTottenham Starlet Jese has spoken to TalkSport today, ahead of the new season, about everything from his first-team prospects, to the World Cup, which he watched from home, Spain having not qualified from the qualifying play-offs.
After a £29.5m move (after conditions have been met) from Real Madrid last January, Jese made 23 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 13 times, and contributing 4 assists, with 5 Man of the Match awards in the process. With that half-season behind him now, Jese is looking to establish himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet, but with Harry Kane, Tata and Emmanuel Adebayor also joining him in the race for a starting spot next to Roberto Soldado.
Jese's biggest asset last season was his skill and speed, as defences across the league struggled to cope with his explosive pace and tricky runs into the box. Technically gifted, Jese promises to give Tottenham fans something to cheer for this season, as he helps the side cement their position as England's top team.
Top Marks: Jese's stats for last season speak for themselves
It's been a great summer so far; having the Spaniards at our Brazilian training camp made me all the more confident about the upcoming season, after they failed to qualify for the World Cup; and a strange World Cup it was. While we were training in Brazil, a large proportion of our players were training with their national sides, and contributing to the varying degrees of success for their countries.
3 of our guys made it into the dream team: Hugo, Younes and Antione were all involved, having been part of the France side which lifted the trophy. Sandro and Paulinho returrned early, with Brazil knocked out in the second round by Germany, while Ross, Kyle and Andros were later in coming to the camp, with England pushing their campaign all the way, finishing after losing to Argentina in the 3rd-placed playoff.
In terms of the friendlies we played in Brazil, the performances could certainly have been better, but part of me thinks that the boys were allowed to relax too much; A 2-2 draw with Vasco was followed by a 2-0 win, a 3-0 win and a 2-0 win, against Sport, Fortaleza and Desportiva respectively. Over the course of the entire tour though, one player who really impressed me was Danny; he put in 4 high-quality performances, causing problems and defending well in each, and going unnoticed by the fans on forums and in the stadium, despite his stellar efforts.
Our first real challenge of pre-season comes soon, in the form of a home tie against Atletico, before we ship out to China for our second tour, where we will play 4 games, before the Community Shield match against Chelsea; our first domestic game of the season.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02779/Emmanuel_Adebayor_2779001b.jpgSpurs fans welcomed last season's Liga BBVA 3rd placed side to White Hart Lane on a breezy Wednesday evening, in the first real heavyweight clash of pre-season.
After just nine minutes, Emmanuel Adebayor had his side ahead, the ball nestling snugly in Victor Valdes' net following a sublime passing move which started with right-back Kyle Walker deep within the Spurs half. The side's return to a formation using wingers seems to have been a success, with Andros Townsend and Ryan Gauld causing real problems for Filipe and Manquillo in the Madrid defence.
Come half-time, Tottenham's blistering passing game had Atletico on the back foot, and at half time, with their side 1-0 up, the Spurs fans were jubilant; this half was a real testament to the fact the side has the quality to once again challenge for European honours.
After the restart, Atletico striker Adrian caught the Spurs defence napping, latching onto a long ball from Mario Suarez to knock the ball past World Cup Winner Hugo Lloris to level the scores. Spurs never stopped pushing though, and a Paulinho strike after 70 minutes had them ahead once again, and a consumate finish from Adebayor rounded off a 3-1 victory for Spurs
Spurs and Chelsea fans alike piled into Wembley to cheer their heroes on in the Community Shield, as the two London clubs went head to head for the first piece of silverware of the season. League champions Tottenham, and FA Cup winners Chelsea have both beaten each other 5-1 in recent meetings, with Chelsea the most recent victors. The clash promised to be an intense affair, with both sides on a high following their players' World Cup exploits.
Any talk of the match being considered a friendly was belittled when the sides named their starting Elevens:
Chelsea Starting XI
Cech, Bertrand, Dante, Luiz, Ivanovic (c), Koke, Ramires, Hazard, Oscar, Willian, MandzukicSubs: Courtois, Chalobah, Terry, Pedro, Eto'o, Romeu, Wallace
Tottenham Starting XI
Lloris, Rose, Vertonghen, Kaboul, De Sciglio, Sandro, Dembele, Paulinho, Ward-Prowse, Soldado, JeseSubs: Harvey, Chiriches, Griezmann, Barkley, Walker, Capoue, Adebayor
When the players took to the field at 3pm, the 90,000 fans inside the stadium cranked the volume to fever pitch, and by the time Howard Webb had blown for kick-off, nobody could hear themselves think, as the fans continued to raise the roof.
The racket was clearly overwhelming for FA Cup winners Chelsea, when David Luiz brought Roberto Soldado down on the edge of the area, and James Ward Prowse picked the perfect spot, and the perfect moment to score his first competitive goal for the club, firing the ball into the bottom corner past the despairing fingertips of Petr Cech.
Tottenham continued to press, chasing every loose ball, playing a blazing passing game on the Wembley turf, and refusing to give Chelsea any room to play, forcing mistakes and fouls on a regular basis, and proving that it's not just class which is required to win trophies; sometimes it is necessary to dig in and hassle your opponents.
Tottenham's pressure was telling, and after 20 minutes, a flowing passing move saw the ball moved out wide to Danny Rose, who lofted a ball into the Chelsea box, which Paulinho turned past Petr Cech to put Spurs 2-0 up and send their fans even further into delight.
Even at 2-0 up, Spurs refused to slow down, and just 16 minutes later, Oscar upended Soldado in the box, and the Spaniard picked himself up to slot home past Cech, and seemingly put the game beyond doubt.
Half Time: Spurs 3-0 Chelsea
The second half was uneventful, as Tottenham kept the ball well and continued to frustrate Chelsea, who became more and more desperate as the game wore on; picking up 4 yellow cards in the first hour of the game.
Samuel Eto'o, a half-time substitute brought some respectability to the scoreline, firing a sublime shot into the top corner of Lloris' net, to bring the score back to 3-1, but Chelsea couldn't find another way through, and Tottenham celebrated at full-time with their first Community Shield since 1962.
August has been a good month for the club; after we opened our competitive season by lifting the Community Shield, we went on to draw twice and win once, the victory coming against newly-promoted Wigan away from home.
Our first game, against Aston Villa, was saddening in a sense; we were 2-0 up after 12 minutes, and comfortable, after goals from Andros Townsend and Roberto Soldado, but we let our concentration slip, and Aston Villa battled back to earn a 2-2 draw. It was far from an ideal start to our season, but in truth the Birmingham side deserved their draw.
In our second game, away from home against Wigan, we displayed the kind of football which won us the title last season, comfortably breezing home in a 2-0 win. Our goals came from Antoine Griezmann and Jese, which was encouraging, as it showed that many of our players have scoring potential, from different areas of the pitch. Vice-Captain Hugo Lloris also showed his credentials, performing several acrobatic saves to keep Wigan at bay when they threatened our goal, and keeping his first clean sheet of the campaign.
Our final league game of a quiet month was against Liverpool at Anfield, and we returned to London with a creditable 0-0 draw under our belts, against a team who look like they could be dangerous this season. A man of the match performance from Kyle Walker was very much integral to our play, as he bombed up and down the right wing, covering defensively and causing problems for the Liverpool defence, who held strong despite our pressure.
Overall, our performances have been good, and only some good play from the opposition, and our own complacency, have led to us dropping points. We will find out in the next few days our group for the Champions League, and then the hard work will start in earnest. Over the summer, I overhauled the clubs' backroom staff, and the benefits are starting to be seen in training.
Until Next Time,
http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54492/177/0DF4D53F29350F06AC95993A33A8F2EF.png
Group Stages Draw: 2014/15
The Champions League Group Stages promise some major matchups every season, but this season, the draw has produced even more heavyweight ties than usual. Below is a rundown of the groups as they were drawn, and we will point out some of the bigger matches as we see them.
Group A:
Obviously the showstopper in here is the matchup between Lyon and Juventus; two clubs with 2 Champions league trophies between them, although admittedly both belong to Juventus. Both sides boast some real talent, and Hannover and Sion will have to be at their very best to produce anything from this group.
Group B:
A Straightforward group for Chelsea on paper, although Galatasary could be a potential banana skin for them. The interesting battle here is for second place, and all 3 sides could take it.
Group C:
A very tight group here; Liverpool will have to get results against both Zenit and Hoffenheim to stand a chance of going through, and Barcelona should very much walk this group.
Group D:
About as straightforward a group as we're likely to see: Porto and Shakhtar should qualify here - the other two will be battling to avoid fourth place and secure Europa League football for themselves.
Group E:
A big group here; any of the 4 teams could qualify, but Atletico and Marseille have to be favourites - and that'll be a great game to watch.
Group F:
Group F provides possibly the biggest tie in these group stages; Real Madrid v PSG - a match which promises goals and high-value players, if nothing else. In theory though, this isn't a group of death by a long shot, and I wouldn't envy BATE or Bestikas when they're on their travels; The real battle will be for that top spot and the (theoretically) easier passage.
Group G:
As close to a group of death as we're going to see this time around: Spurs will have no easy games here, but must get results against both Sporting and Celtic to have any chance of progression.
Group H:
Another tight group, but I can't see past PSV and Benfica for qualification; some great matches to be had in here though - and some great goalscoring potential.
You are reading "Tottenham Hotspur: Back To Basics".
