The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Tottenham

  • Spurs captain Hugo Lloris in surprise drink-drive charge

    Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been charged with drink driving after failing a breathalyser test at 2.30am in central London.

    The World Cup-winning captain was held in jail for seven hours in the early hours of Friday morning after a night of celebration with fellow France team-mates Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny.

    The 31-year-old father of two was taken to Charing Cross police station where he was put in a cell after fingerprints and a DNA swab were taken.

    Lloris and his French team-mates had enjoyed an evening of celebration at Bagatelle, a French and Mediterranean restaurant in Mayfair.

    He was pictured grinning in a group photo at the establishment in Dover Street before he drove home under the influence.

    The Metropolitan Police said: ‘A man has been charged following a routine patrol stop in Gloucester Place, W1.

    ‘Hugo Lloris, 31, of East Finchley, was charged with drink driving on Friday, 24 August.

    ‘He has been bailed to return to Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 11 September.’

    The Frenchman returned home on foot at 11:00am on Friday morning and refused to answer questions from reporters. He did not train with his team-mates on Friday.

    News of his indiscretion will stun football fans as the goalkeeper is widely considered a quiet, dignified leader.

  • Pochettino signs new 5-year contract with Tottenham

    Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino signed a new five-year contract on Thursday that will keep him at the English Premier League club until 2023.

    Pochettino, who joined Spurs in 2014, led the club to a third-place finish in the league this past season.

    It ensured they would play in the UEFA Champions League for a third campaign in a row.

    The Argentine’s success at Tottenham has made him one of the most coveted managers in world football.

    Under the 46-year-old manager’s leadership, Spurs have evolved into a high-pressing team that plays an energetic and attractive brand of football.

    He is yet to win a trophy with Spurs, who will move into their new 63,000-seater stadium next season after spending the last campaign playing their home games at Wembley Stadium.

    “I am delighted that we have agreed a new, extended contract with Mauricio,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement on the club’s website.

    “We have been on an extraordinary journey and the times ahead look even more exciting as the club enters the next phase in its history.

    “Mauricio has fostered an incredible spirit in the team and has embraced a style of play our fans have loved watching. I know they will welcome this commitment by Mauricio.”

    Pochettino said his decision to sign an extension at Spurs had followed extensive talks with Levy over the direction the club would take in future.

    The chairman operates a strict wage structure at Tottenham with the club’s salary budget and transfer spending dwarfed by their top-six rivals.

    “I am honoured to have signed a new long-term contract as we approach one of the most significant periods in the club’s history and be the manager that will lead this team into our new world-class stadium,” Pochettino said.

    “Daniel and I have spoken at length about our aspirations for this football club. We both share the same philosophies to achieve long-term, sustainable success.

    “This is a special club —- we always strive to be creative in the way we work both on and off the pitch and will continue to stick to our principles in order to achieve the success this club deserves.”

  • Smalling: I know how to hurt Tottenham

    Manchester United defender Chris Smalling believes Tottenham Hotspur are a different side when on the back foot.

    The England international was talking in advance of tonight’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

    United was beaten badly early in the league when both sides last clashed at Wembley – but Smalling reckons things can be very different on this weekend.

    “Obviously, we started very slowly in that game and they got the early goal, which put us on the back foot,” Smalling explained to MUTV.

    “We couldn’t really get back into the game, even though, in the second half, we were a lot better. But when we are on the front foot, like the home game when we played them at Old Trafford, when you get after them, that’s not something that they like.

    “I think they like to control the game at their own tempo but if we can get after them and disrupt them, we’ve seen that we can beat them.

    “I think everybody can expect an exciting game because there is obviously a lot at stake. Both teams will be tactically spot-on and then it’s up to the high-class individuals that each team has got to produce something special. It wouldn’t surprise me if that was how the game was decided.”

  • Manchester City players dominate PFA Team of the Year

    Players from the Premier League champions-in-waiting Manchester City dominated the Professional Footballers’ Association’s ( PFA ) Team of the Year announced on Wednesday, occupying five out of 11 spots.

    City defenders Kyle Walker and Nicolas Otamendi, midfielders David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne as well as all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero were named in the side.

    Tottenham Hotspur had three players on the list, including England striker Harry Kane, who made the team for a third straight year along with Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

    Read Also: Champions League: Manchester City & Barcelona Out

    Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has 40 goals across all competitions this season and was nominated for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, also made the team.

    Chelsea had a lone representative in defender Marcos Alonso.

    PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero.

    NAN

  • Mourinho set to drop players for United’s FA Cup semi-final

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is ready to drop established players for the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, after the Old Trafford club’s weekend defeat by Premier League bottom side West Bromwich Albion.

    United suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to West Brom on Sunday, handing the title to Manchester City, and Mourinho said his team were the “masters of complication”.

    They next visit Bournemouth on Wednesday before facing Spurs at Wembley.

    Mourinho indicated that some of those who played against West Brom would feature again at Bournemouth because they had lost their place for the semi-final.

    “Rotating is not the right word,” he was quoted as saying by The Independent. “If I play a player against Bournemouth and the player is phenomenal, he plays the semi-final.

    “So is not rotating, because rotating looks like a player plays against Bournemouth to give a rest to somebody that is going to play against Spurs in the semi-final.

    “So the word is not rotation, it is an opportunity for people, for some people, to play and to try to get a place in the team for Spurs.

    “Some of the guys that played ( on Sunday ) don’t have a place in that team.”

    Asked to clarify if he meant those who performed badly against West Brom would not play against Tottenham, Mourinho said: “Yeah.

    “What is the criteria for a manager to choose a team? I only know one criteria: ( it ) is the way you play.

    “Or do you want me to go for the price they cost, or their salary, or their beautiful face? The only way is to go with performance.”

    Ander Herrera was substituted at halftime against West Brom, while fellow midfielder Paul Pogba came off in the 58th minute, but Mourinho said that a yellow card had also been a factor in the Frenchman’s replacement.

    “It was not just him and he had a yellow card, so he was in a more difficult position than others,” Mourinho said.

    “And playing with only two midfield players, you cannot play with one player in risk of not being able to make a foul.

    “You can do it if your team is not losing the ball, but our team was losing the ball so easy with the complication, everything was complicated, so we were losing lots of balls.

    “Paul was out because of the yellow card, because in terms of the way he played, he was not worse than some others that were on the pitch for 90 minutes.”

    NAN

  • Kane upbeat amidst struggles with crutches

     

    Harry Kane was pictured wearing a foot brace and using crutches on Monday as Tottenham and England continue to sweat on the prolific striker’s fitness.

    Kane, who has scored 39 goals for club and country this season, appeared to struggle a little as he hobbled his way into the back of a car in Essex followed by his fiancée Katie.

    Dressed in a hoodie, tracksuit bottoms and trainers, Kane struggled through the rain with the aid of the crutches.

    The 24-year-old is set to undergo scans to determine the severity of his ankle injury sustained during Tottenham’s 4-1 victory at Bournemouth on Sunday.

    The Premier League club are continuing to assess the problem as the swelling on his right ankle needs to go down before they can determine the extent of the injury.

    Kane limped off during the first-half at the Vitality Stadium after his ankle appeared to buckle in collision with Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic as he put the ball in the net only for it to be disallowed.

    He hobbled around the side of the pitch and appeared to be preparing to come back on before disappearing down the tunnel to be replaced by Erik Lamela.

    A spell on the sidelines for the 24-year-old could have serious ramifications for both club and country.

    Spurs face an important FA Cup quarter-final at Swansea next weekend, while England manager Gareth Southgate will on Thursday name his squad for the forthcoming friendlies against Holland and Italy, with the World Cup just three months away.

    He was sidelined for seven weeks and missed 10 Spurs games due to the initial injury, picked up against Sunderland in September 2016.

    However, he then returned to action within a month of sustaining a similar problem in an FA Cup tie with Millwall last March.

    Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was optimistic about the latest injury setback and said Kane remained upbeat.

    ‘We hope that it’s not a massive issue,’ said the Argentinian coach.

    ‘He felt that when he ran and twisted his ankle that it was impossible to stay on the pitch.

    ‘Harry has a great character and is always positive, happy with the victory for the team, of course disappointed with his problem. But if you’re positive you start the recovery from injury from now.’

     

     

     

  • Klopp furious as late Kane penalty kick denies Liverpool

    Klopp furious as late Kane penalty kick denies Liverpool

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp launched a scathing attack on referee Jon Moss and his officials after Harry Kane’s controversial last-gasp penalty kick gave Tottenham a dramatic 2-2 draw on Sunday.

    Reds boss Klopp was furious that his side’s chances of a vital victory over their top-four rivals were wiped out in an incident-packed finale at Anfield.

    After Victor Wanyama equalised for Tottenham with 10 minutes left to cancel out Mohamed Salah’s early opener, Moss and his linesmen took centre stage.

    First, Tottenham were awarded a penalty kick for Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius’s foul on Kane, even though Klopp felt the England star was offside.

    Kane’s spot-kick was saved by Karius and when Salah put Liverpool ahead in stoppage-time, Klopp must have felt justice was done.

    But in the final seconds, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk nudged over Erik Lamela and Moss gave another penalty kick, with Kane this time converting from the spot.

    Read Also: Klopp  must take blame for Liverpool ’s poor defence – Schmeichel

    Klopp confronted Moss on the pitch at fulltime and still had not calmed down when he spoke to the media.

    “I am not allowed to go in their room until half an hour after. It was clear offside, unbelievable, I don’t know what they were discussing,” Klopp said of the first penalty kick.

    Speaking about the second spot-kick, the German said: “Yes, Virgil van Dijk touches him, but we all know Lamela wants the touch and we all know there were so (many) hard fouls in the first half and we didn’t get any fouls.

    “That was the level for the game today, but then a situation in the last minute like that? Wow! He (the official) wanted to be middle of interest and he is.

    “It was clear two sides (of) high quality both wanted to win desperately, but the result was massively influenced by linesman decisions.

    “We have to take it, that’s how it is.”

    NAN

  • Player Of The Month: Kane equals Gerrard’s record

    Player Of The Month: Kane equals Gerrard’s record

     

    Harry Kane has equalled Steven Gerrard’s record of six Premier League Player of the Month awards after winning December’s prize.

    The Tottenham striker scored eight goals in six matches, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Burnley and Southampton in a vintage month.

    He set a record of 39 Premier League goals in a calendar year in the process and has now joined the former Liverpool captain in the history books.

    Kane admitted he was proud of the award as he gets set to return to league action in Spurs’ home clash with Everton this weekend.

    ‘It’s amazing, very proud of that,’ Kane said of matching Gerrard.

    ‘I’d probably say my favourite goal was the one that broke the [calendar year] record against Southampton,’ he added.

    ‘Obviously there’s a lot of talk before the game about whether I’d do it or not so to get that goal early on in the game as well, it was a great achievement.’

    Gerrard won the first of his Player of the Month awards in March 2001, and his final one came 13 years later.

    Kane topped a shortlist that included Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso, West Ham United’s Marko Arnautovic, Liverpool duo

    Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, Jesse Lingard of Manchester United, Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez and Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi.

  • Five things to know about Lineker – 2018 world cup draw host

    Five things to know about Lineker – 2018 world cup draw host

    Gary Lineker, who won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup, was announced last week as the host and will be partnered by Russian Sports Journalists, Maria Komandnaya to coordinate together the 2018 World Cup final draw billed for Friday, December 1, 2017.

    It is less than a week for the draws that will determine the groupings of the 32 countries that had booked a ticket at next year’s World Cup in Russia, and it is pertinent to have an insight of who Lineker, the main conductor of the Draw Ceremony is.

    These 5 things about Lineker, starting with the more astonishing ones to the most jaw-dropping, are guaranteed to keep your head swirling. Carefully go through them.

    1. Was predicted not to make a living out of football:

    After leaving school with just four O’ Levels, one of Lineker’s teachers predicted that he would never make it as a footballer.

    The teacher attributed the failure to his passion for football, and he wrote on his report card that “he concentrates too much on football and that he would never make a living at that.”

    1. England’s highest goal scorer at the World Cup:

    The former striker who was capped 80 times by England is the Three Lions’ all-time scorer at the World Cup with 10 goals.

    With six goals at the 1986 World Cup, Lineker emerged as the top scorer of the tournament, one that had the likes of Jorge Valdano, Socrates and Diego Maradona as participants.

    No English player has yet to win a World Cup Golden Boot even after seven World Cups.

    1. Highest goal scorer with three different English clubs:

    The former Barcelona forward is the only player to have been the top scorer with three different clubs in England. In 1984 for Leiceser City, Lineker emerged as the joint top scorer with Chelsea’s Kerry Dixon. The duo recorded 24 goals apiece.

    In 1985, Lineker moved to Everton in a deal worth around £800,000. He scored 30 goals for Everton in his debut season and finished the season as the league’s top scorer for the second time in a row.

    In the 1989 season, he emerged again as the English league’s top division highest scorer– scoring 24 goals for Tottenham Hotspur.

    1. Presented a show in 2016 with shorts:

    Lineker, who is BT Sport’s lead presenter for Champions League back in 2016, appeared in the first BBC Match of the Day for the 2016/2017 season in boxer shorts.

    The 57-year-old had promised in a tweet in 2015 that, if his former club, Leicester, should win the 2015/2016 Premier League, he would appear on the BBC match of the day in his undies. And appear he did!

    1. Had zero yellow card in his entire playing career:

    With a 16-year playing career that saw him had spells with the likes of Barcelona, Tottenham, Leicester City, Everton and Nagoya Grampus Eight, Lineker went his entire career without receiving neither a yellow card nor a red. This feat earned him the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1990.

    Hope Lineker has a great day on Friday like he did during his playing days.

  • Tottenham’s Dembele eyes start against Arsenal

    Tottenham’s Dembele eyes start against Arsenal

    Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele is confident he can make his first Premier League start for the club in two months, in the weekend’s clash at Arsenal after fully recovering from a foot injury.

    Dembele, whose progress has also been stalled by a hip issue, has featured just six times in the Premier League this season.

    And he played the full 45 minutes after coming on at half time in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace earlier this month.

    The Belgian international is targeting a full time return to first team action.

    “My injury is much better, “Dembele told Sky Sports.”I played 45 minutes in the last game so it is good. Of course.

    “I want to be playing for the team and adding my value but right now I am very optimistic and feel good.

    “For us every game is important, but we know there is some extra vibe for this kind of game, it’s important for us.”

    Tottenham are third in the table, eight points behind runaway leaders Manchester City, and Dembele stressed the importance of a win on Saturday.

    “Also, like the fans, we have the same goal, we want to achieve something as a club and any team that we play we want to beat, we want to win,” he said.

    “That is the same with this game, we are aware of the importance of this derby.”

    Arsenal, who were beaten 3-1 at City in their last league outing are sixth in the standings with 19 points from 11 games.

    NAN