Tottenham’s season has unravelled—and with big changes looming, the focus now turns to the Europa League final. We spoke to James Trembath of LondonWorld to look ahead to the final for Spurs and how it could pan out.
00:00So, James, a massive game for Spurs in terms of their recent history, in terms of saving their season.
00:07Obviously, we mentioned going into it, the run to get to the Europa League final.
00:12They do face Manchester United, who do have a fairly decent record in finals and getting over the line in big games throughout their history.
00:20So it is a challenge. And then obviously, mounted more of that challenge is the injury situation as well, which we'll get into.
00:27But just in terms of this game alone, obviously, it's been a dismal season for Spurs, but it's certainly an occasion that, you know, you may as well let your hair down and get excited for as a Spurs fan.
00:37Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't quite go as far as to say redemption for Spurs, but certainly, you know, we joked at the start of the season that, you know, would you take finishing 17th and winning a trophy?
00:47And here we are, we're 17th, likely to finish 17th, I think, as well.
00:51And we've got the possibility of making history and winning a European trophy.
00:55So it's exciting. It's probably terrifying in equal measure.
01:00Two Premier League strugglers, you know, 16th v 17th, and we've wrapped up 39 Premier League defeats between us.
01:06So it's kind of the ultimate pillow fight, I guess, isn't it?
01:08I think one pundit described it as the other day.
01:11Winner takes all. I mean, I think if you look at the sort of both, the stance from both clubs, Spurs are desperate for the trophy.
01:18And obviously, Champions League is the kind of icing on the cake.
01:21I think if you were to ask my United fans, who obviously have had the luxury of winning several titles and trophies in the past couple of decades,
01:29they probably just want the Champions League, I think, in terms of their direction of travel.
01:32So you could argue there's probably more on it for Spurs in terms of that trophy, you know, ending that 17-year wait for a trophy since we last won a cup in 2008 when we lifted the League Cup.
01:44It feels such a long time since Ledley King lifted that one.
01:47I was just a teenager when that happened.
01:50So, yeah, it's going to be a heck of a game to Premier League strugglers, but obviously the European form has been much, much better.
01:59I think the thing with Spurs is we've been very, very cavalier, you know, wide open in the Premier League.
02:04We've spoken about it time and again, haven't we, in terms of that ball over the top, that aggressive high line, very, very exposed, conceding lots of silly goals in the Premier League.
02:12But certainly in Europe, we've been much more robust, a lot more pragmatic.
02:15You know, you don't see Porro and Udogi bombing over the halfway line and inverting as much as they do in the Premier League.
02:21We play with that sort of double pivot with Vissouma and Benton Kerr.
02:25So we're a lot more solid, we're a lot more robust.
02:27You could argue we're not quite as dangerous going forward, perhaps.
02:31And Man Utd have been the same, aren't they?
02:33They've had some tremendous European results and, you know, really made light work at Bilbao in what looked like a really, really tough semi-final on paper.
02:41So it's going to be tight.
02:43I just hope that Spurs obviously come out on the right side.
02:50Yeah, and just on the injury situation, obviously Spurs, it's already quite a challenge to go and beat Manchester United in a European final,
02:57but then made a bit tougher as well with the injuries, the key players that they've lost, the likes of Kudasiewski, Maddison, missing the final.
03:05Players who've been that small, shining light in this terrible season for Spurs, they're going to be missing it.
03:13So it's massive on the other players to make sure they adapt and get the job done because those are key players.
03:19Yeah, absolutely.
03:19And I mean, Kudasiewski was the standout player in the first half of the season.
03:22Maddison's gone very, very under the radar.
03:25I think he gets a lot of stick from certain quarters of the media, as we know, and certain levels of the Spurs fan base as well.
03:30But, you know, when he's out of the team, Spurs are worse for it.
03:34So two big, big misses, you know, very, very unfortunate to lose Kudasiewski.
03:38Maddison, we thought, was a minor injury, but it turns out it's quite a serious knee injury.
03:44Albeit he has travelled over to Bilbao with the customary pillow under his arm to support the team, hoping to lift that trophy, of course.
03:51But I think in terms of Anja's options for the final, you know, you could say that pretty much 10 players are already set.
03:59I mean, you know, Vicario in goal, Porro, Udogi, the full-backs, Romero and van der Venn have obviously been wrapped up in cotton wool.
04:06They'll be the centre-backs.
04:07We've got the double pivot of Bissouma and Benton Kerr.
04:09We're going to need to have massive games to really protect the threat of Bruno Fernandes raiding and putting in those dangerous balls into the box.
04:16And then, likely, Johnson one side, Son the other, Slanky through the middle.
04:22And then I think that just leaves that one spot up for grabs.
04:24So, is Lukas Bergwahl going to make a miraculous recovery from his ankle injury?
04:30Little bits of talk that he may be available, whether he can start is another thing.
04:35Sar went off against Aston Villa with a back injury.
04:37You could argue that playing Sar, Benton Kerr, Bissouma really does leave us void of any creativity.
04:43So, you know, does he try something different?
04:46Do we go with a Son in the 10, maybe, and we bring Teller Odeber on to the left side?
04:50Or does he go Son in the 10 and bring Richarlison in?
04:53And, you know, Richarlison, big game player.
04:55He's obviously won trophies for Brazil.
04:58And he's maybe got that little bit of bite and that little bit of aggression that you maybe need in a final.
05:03So, really, really interesting to see which way Ange goes in terms of that team selection and, indeed, formation.
05:09I mean, you know, you could even argue that Slanky could withdraw as the 10 and Richarlison up top on his own.
05:14But I can't really see that happening because, obviously, Slanky leads the press so well.
05:19So, I think he'll go Slanky up front and then, you know, we wait to see what he does with that final midfield slot.
05:27But I think the rest of the team probably picks itself.
05:28Yeah, I mean, looking at the head-to-head, March 2020, sorry, October 2022, the last time Manchester United actually beat Spurs.
05:39Six games, that is, you know, four wins for Spurs, two draws.
05:43I mean, can they take a bit of momentum from that?
05:46Obviously, Manchester United, you know, make no bones about it.
05:49They've had a terrible season by their standards as well.
05:52It sort of just aligns for maybe Spurs, you know, to go and get this job done.
05:57Well, on one hand, it aligns.
05:58I mean, the hoodoo over them since 2022.
06:01On the other hand, you think, when's that going to change and the Spurs going to get beat 1-0?
06:06I'm praying that we continue the hoodoo.
06:08I think, you know, we have played very well against them this season.
06:11Obviously, we took them apart at Old Trafford.
06:13Really, really strong performance.
06:15We beat them in the Carabao Cup as well, albeit that was a bit of a game that swung both ways.
06:20I think Son scored from a corner, if I remember rightly, to win that one.
06:23And Fraser Forster had a terrible night in goal and conceded a couple of really poor goals there.
06:28But we did play very well.
06:29And then the league game at White Hart Lane or the Tottenham Stadium, we got over the line 1-0.
06:33And again, I think fair play to Man U, actually.
06:36They played very, very well that day.
06:38So, yeah, we've had the hoodoo over them a little bit.
06:42But, you know, we know the threat and that's the concern.
06:46They've obviously got Ahmad back from injury.
06:48Bruno Fernandes is obviously their standout player.
06:51I mean, if you look at Spurs and Man United on paper, you know,
06:55you probably would argue that in most positions, Spurs have got the better line-up.
07:00Certainly on the day when we've got that back five that played together, we don't lose many.
07:04I think it's 20 games and we've won 15 with that back five in place.
07:09So, that's certainly a big plus for Spurs in the final.
07:13But as I say, Fernandes is a quality player and he can turn the game on his head.
07:17So, in terms of where it's going to be won and lost, you know, Benton Kerr, Bissouma really, really need to be on the metal in front of that back four.
07:25Bissouma has obviously been frozen out for much in the last couple of months, but he has come back in due to the injury situation.
07:30And, you know, in both legs of the semi-final against Bodo, he was excellent.
07:35He really was outstanding.
07:36So, we need that Bissouma that we saw at Brighton so often.
07:40And, you know, we've seen him pockets and flashes for Spurs.
07:43Full concentration, you know, full shielding.
07:46You know, he often lets the game pass him by.
07:48Really, really important.
07:49He's focused, as is all the plays tomorrow night in the final.
07:52But, yeah, I think that's going to be a real key match of Fernandes V, that double pivot in midfield.
07:58And then we've got to take the chances, you know.
08:00As I say, we're going to lack a little bit of creativity, potentially, without Maddison and Kulisewski.
08:06So, we need to make those chances count.
08:08And, you know, a huge, huge game for Hongmin Son.
08:10You know, he obviously carried an injury for the past few weeks.
08:15Looked to be opening his legs a little bit in terms of, you know, getting back up to speed on Friday against Aston Villa.
08:21He had a couple of really good runs, strong runs with the ball that we've not really seen in recent weeks.
08:27So, huge game.
08:29And, you know, if anybody deserves a trophy for Spurs, it's been Son.
08:32He's been such a fantastic servant over the years.
08:35It'd be great for him to really lead the charge in this massive game for us.
08:39Get us over the line and, you know, see him lifting the trophy at the end.
08:43It'd just be, you know, the icing on the cake in terms of what you've already said.
08:46It's been a horrendous season, really.
08:49You know, to gloss over that, we've been dreadful in all respects.
08:53You could argue a little bit of cause and effect in terms of the Thursday-Sunday that has impacted the league alongside the injuries.
08:59But, you know, nonetheless, we've not been anywhere near the levels we needed to be in the Premier League.
09:03So, redemption is a big chance for us in terms of Bilbao.
09:07And, you know, fingers crossed we can get that monkey off our back in terms of that trophy.
09:11And that, you know, sort of statement that everybody levels at Spurs that we can never win any trophies.
