good morning everyone –
WHAT A DAY !!!!!
Tottenham Hotspur won a football match, AT HOME!!!
There’s so much to be excited about here. There were moments where Spurs looked nervous, yes, but moments of brilliance. Do Spurs only score worldies? James Maddison and Omar Marmoush might say so.
Oh, and then a casual trivela from Ben Davies? Get outta here baby:
But I think nothing was more significant than the return of Dejan Kulusevski. He was out
injured for more than 500 days. I thought his career was over. It hurt me to see.
Thank goodness I was wrong. And I’m equally thankful for his doctors, physios and the team at Spurs HQ, and for Deki himself. When Roberto De Zerbi announced Kulusevski would be on the bench, I thought it was just for the vibes. And then, with Tottenham improbably ahead against Coventry on Monday, Kulusevski made an appearance on the pitch.
Here’s what De Zerbi had to say, via Alasdair Gold (full transcript linked below):
“Just for the fans because they waited (for) him on the pitch and in the last 5-10 minutes for extra time, we needed the support of the fans. And they are fantastic with Kulusevski, with us, they suffered too much in the last 3-4 seasons, I don’t know, but they deserve to celebrate many, many wins.“
There are a couple things I’d like to point out:
- Yes, we have suffered for a long time. We deserved to see Kulusevski. More importantly, he deserved to hear the crowd’s appreciation for him.
- He looked pretty dang good! That run he made late in the second half? My goodness, your hoddler-in-chief was jumping up and down waiting for that classic Deki cut-in just outside the box. We were close. Maybe next time.
I agree with RDZ when he said there were better performances this season. But we all know wins are the most important statistic. This was a big one, and I’m going to celebrate it. Maddison was incredible, Marmoush was really good. I really liked seeing Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. I’m still unconvinced with Jan Paul van Hecke.
But we have Kulusevski back.
UP THE SPURS!
Fitzie’s track of the day: Fernando, by ABBA
And now for your links:
The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham finally end their wait for a league win. Did Maddison just kickstart their season?”
Alasdair Gold: “Every word De Zerbi said on Maddison, Kulusevski and surprising answer on new Tottenham injuries”
Matt Law: “Maddison and Kulusevski bring back the feel-good factor to Spurs”
BBC: “Maddison’s magic moment for Spurs – 18 months in the making”
Sky Sports: “Tottenham 3-1 Coventry: Dejan Kulusevski returns to action as Spurs secure first Premier League win of the season”
