North of the River

Another tumultuous summer looks to be in store for Tottenham Hotspur fans, as Antonio Conte has walked out of the hot seat, after Daniel Levy told him there wasn’t to be any new signings unless those surplus to requirements were sold first.

After spending two months last summer finding Jose’s replacement, and ultimately that failed as they turned to Conte who steered them back into the Champions League. But now it’s back to square one for Tottenham and their fans.


“Conte was Levy’s last chance to prove to us that he wants to see this club succeed, but it’s plain to see ENIC only give a crap about making this club a cash cow. Fatten up and then sell on to the highest bidder. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.” Fans venting their frustrations after years and years of coming so close, but yet they’re still so far away.

Thankfully for Tottenham fans, it hasn’t taken Daniel Levy long in replacing Antonio Conte with former favourite, Karl George.


George, who spent the entirety of his career at Spurs, has always been worshipped at White Hart Lane. Him and Ledley King, both loyal mainstays who rejected moves away. George courted controversy over Sol Campbell, with his words and actions against his former teammate, who betrayed everyone in the club.

In doing so, it cut short his England career as they deemed Campbell was more valuable to them. But George didn’t let it affect him and he played at the top of his game for several years for Tottenham, dragging them from the doldrums and eventually Champions League football. After retiring he stayed at Spurs gaining his coaching badges and learning from Pochettino, Mourinho and Conte.

“Karl has the Tottenham DNA in him, he understands what it means to the fans, he gets this club every which way. He’s learned from Mauricio, Jose, Antonio, he’s taken on what they’ve had to offer and absorbed it all, meshed with his own ideals, which we believe will be a winning combination and we can finally give the fans the success they crave.” Daniel Levy was mocked by the fans after hearing his statement about the appointment of the new manager, but George had his own views.

“I know the fans will probably be thinking as it’s my first venture into management, that I'm simply here to be a ‘Yes’ man. But if you’re truly Tottenham through and through, you’ll know that isn’t me. I’ve openly told Daniel the mistakes he’s made and how the majority of the fanbase feel towards him. Do I feel like him appointing me is to appease the fans somewhat? Of course, but both aren’t stupid and knowing that I am coming in, doesn’t mean it will solve everything.

I know who needs to go and stay. And it will get worse, before it gets better. But i promise you, if you guys stick with me and don’t waver even during the testing times, you’ll be rewarded. Making your dreams come true, is making mine come to fruition as well. We all want what’s best for Spurs.”

Can Karl George seriously do what TWO World Class managers before him, couldn't?

George didn’t waste any time and set about making the backroom staff his own, terminating several contracts as he brought in his own staff. First on the agenda was bringing in another Tottenham legend, Ledley King as his number two.

Long term friends, the two set in motion what they wanted to achieve and how to go about it. After agreeing on what philosophy to adhere to in the transfer market, they took their time to find their targets. And with only a small budget, they knew they had to use Fabio’s negotiating skills to his full capabilities.

“We need to replace Hugo in the long term. Davison (Sanchez), Eric (Dier), Ben (Davies), Emerson (Royal), Matt (Doherty) & Lucas (Moura) all need to depart. But obviously we’re going to have to be patient and get them gone over the next two to three windows. Pierre (Hojberg) i’m willing to let go, if we get an acceptable bid. We also need to look at long term replacements for Harry (Kane) and Son (Heung-Min)

Defensively we need a huge overhaul and that’s your department, Ledley. Our immediate aim is to get some creative players in. And i’m starting that by bringing Lo Celso back from his loan. There’s a player in there, just need to get it out of him.

I want to get in a blend of players for the future and for now. And we need to make sure they’re home grown.”

After setting out our philosophy, we agreed a £40 million deal for Eric Dier to P.S.G but for some strange reason he turned their contract down. Desperately we tried to get rid of him, but every attempt became futile and on deadline day, he suffered a broken ankle and we had to keep him for the first half of the season at least.

Our first signing, Andreas Schjelderup was a wonderkid with unlimited potential and fit perfectly into our philosophy and a player who would eventually replace Heung Min Son.

With the need of another AMR and due to the Champions League registration rules, we brought Marcus Edwards back to the club. He’ll provide competition for Kulu and he’s one of our own homegrown, so all in all, a good bit of business.

Enzo Boyomo from Albacete was next through the door. Another young player and home grown, the deal at a cheap £3 million was a no brainer for Tottenham.

With the need for a creative player, George scoured the market and finally managed to grab a bargain in the shape of Marco Asensio from Real Madrid for a total sum of £20 million.

Tobias Gulliksen, another Norwegian, was signed for £3.3 million from Stromsgodset, with whom he stayed out on loan until January.

I wasn’t happy with the homegrown quota in our squad and I also wasn’t happy with Fraser Forster as our backup goalkeeper. With the second game of the season upon us, Lloris suffered an injury and we swooped to buy Jack Butland from Crystal Palace for a £1.9 million fee, coming to £2.2 million in total. Butland immediately made his debut against his old club, and Hugo hasn’t been able to get his spot back since.

Our final purchase of the summer transfer window was Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United for £35 million on deadline day. Our initial target was Max Aarons from Norwich. After agreeing a fee and sending Dante Cassanova to Norwich in the deal, they later on in the day wanted Djed Spence to cover the position in the short term.

After agreeing to send him out on loan, Max Aarons with three hours to spare put a nail in the coffin and agreed to transfer to Liverpool instead. So quickly we had to agree a deal for AWB for a little more than what he’s worth, but i didn’t trust Doherty to play. And he helped with our HG.

First Half Season Review

With the World Cup concluded as Germany beat France to win the grandest prize of them all. Tottenham were ringing in the new year in good spirits, as they’ve started very, very well under George’s stewardship, surprisingly.



A notable win against Liverpool at home, which George relished after Klopp and Liverpool were responsible for George’s worst day, as he was part of the backroom staff as Liverpool beat them in the 2019 Champions League Final. And he’s been wishing revenge on them ever since.

And another huge win, but this time away to arch nemesis, Arsenal. Their first since that famous 3-2 win at the Emirates in 2010. That was their first in 17 years away to Arsenal. This one made it two wins away to them in 29 years. Which is clearly not good enough.



With Champions League qualification to the knockouts already confirmed. Paris had already won the group, but Spurs exacted revenge, beating them with two late goals in the last five minutes. Following that up with a huge win against rivals Chelsea, to keep pace with Manchester City.

Returning to league action following the World Cup, Spurs destroyed Liverpool at Anfield in the Carabao Cup, before another brilliant win away to league leaders Manchester City thanks to a last second winner from Marco Asensio to pull Spurs just FIVE points behind Manchester City.



With Tottenham performing well above their level, pulling themselves away from 5th place Brentford, giving them a nice buffer. As George wanted to make sure they kept up their efforts in the second half of the season and not go all “Spursy”.





With the ability to make additions in the January transfer window, which George has already stated he will only do so if the right deal presents itself. But Tottenham fans are hoping he can add some real quality to the squad to keep them pushing towards Manchester City and an unlikely Premier league title challenge.