LEGEND RETURNS: SON HEUNG-MIN'S FAREWELL GREETS WINLESS SPURS CRISIS
Spurs legend Son Heung-min returns for a celebration while manager Thomas Frank struggles to end a five-game winless streak, highlighting the leadership vacuum.
Son, the Spurs legend, is coming back to north London next week for a proper farewell.
Recently, the team hasn't been doing so hot. Tottenham hasn't won in its last five games across all competitions.
Son is seen as a club legend, so his return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will definitely be a celebration. When asked if the team misses Son's quiet leadership, Frank said that others need to step up.
“Yeah, I don't know. I would say he's not here, so others need to step up,” Frank said at the press conference before the match.
“It's like when you miss a player for any reason. Sonny has leadership qualities; he brings people together, all that.
“The level they had, others will step up, others will shine a little bit more, because some of the players that were there before took the shine, if that makes sense.”
Frank has only won once in his first seven home league games. He hopes his luck changes against his former club and that Tottenham gets a rare home win while Son is there.
“That would be nice. No doubt about that. I'm so pleased for Sonny that he's coming back, and I really hope he gets the celebration he deserves for everything he's done for this club,” Frank said.
“He was a guy who was really good at bringing people together at this club.”
I'm so pleased for Sonny that he came back and then really, hopefully got the well-deserved celebration for everything he's done for this club.
Thomas Frank
Son's absence has been felt by Frank since he started in north London. The Dane is having trouble deciding on who should play left wing.
Xavi Simons, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, and Richarlison have all played on the left, but Frank doesn't seem sold on any of them.
When asked if he had picked a go-to left winger, Frank said there's a lot of competition.
“I think it's fair to say that there is competition for that left-side role. I think everyone can see that there are two things in it.
“We've played a fair amount of games; we play every third or fourth day, so there needs to be rotation as well.
“But (it is) also fair to say there's not been one player that put his foot down and said, ‘Boom, I'm playing that position.’”
SUNDERLAND CONDEMNS "VILE" RACIST ABUSE AIMED AT BRIAN BROBBEY AFTER SPURS WIN
Brian Brobbey targeted online! Sunderland and the Premier League unite against "vile" discrimination after Spurs win.
Sunderland called out the racist abuse aimed at Brian Brobbey on social media and made it clear they stand fully behind him.
Brobbey was targeted online right after Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. On Monday, the club released a statement: “Sunderland condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist abuse directed at Brian Brobbey on social media following Sunday’s fixture against Tottenham. We stand firmly with Brian and offer him our full and unwavering support.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Sunderland players have had to deal with this kind of abuse this season. After February’s match against Fulham, Romaine Mundle received hateful messages online, and last month the Tyne-Wear derby had to be paused when someone in the crowd reportedly aimed abuse at Lutsharel Geertruida.
The club’s statement continued: “This isn’t an isolated event. The recent abuse aimed at Romaine Mundle and Lutsharel Geertruida shows just how often and how unacceptably this keeps happening, both at matches and on the internet. We’ve reported this latest incident to the Premier League, the social media platforms, and the police, and we expect them to act quickly against the people responsible. Racism is vile, and it doesn’t belong in football or anywhere else. We’ll keep calling it out, clearly and without hesitation, every time it happens. Football should be safe and welcoming for everyone, no exceptions.”
The Premier League is backing Brobbey as well. In a post on their X account, they said they’re “disgusted by the ongoing discrimination” players keep facing online. “We stand alongside Sunderland in strongly condemning the online racist abuse Brian Brobbey has received and have offered our full support to him and the club. We are disgusted by the ongoing discrimination players are facing on social media and are committed to working with clubs, authorities, law enforcement, and social media companies to address this issue, as well as supporting investigations to bring those responsible to justice.
Anyone found guilty of discrimination will face the toughest possible punishments: jail time, football bans, and even a criminal record.”
DAVID MOYES REVEALS "NERVES" AS EVERTON HUNT HISTORIC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION SPOT
David Moyes admits Everton's Champions League hunt is nerve-wracking. See the latest on the Toffees' battle for Europe.
David Moyes admits the idea of Everton making the Champions League this soon in their rebuild actually makes him “shake a wee bit.”
You look at the club now, and it's hard to believe where they were just 14 months ago. When Moyes returned, Everton looked beaten down from years of fighting to stay up. Suddenly, with only seven games left, they’re sitting eighth. That spot could mean Europa Conference League football, but after their win against Chelsea before the break, they’re now just three points off fourth. It’s wild to even talk about the Champions League, but it’s right there in reach.
Reporters put the question to him how does it feel to be this close? With Europe’s spots possibly extending down to fifth (or maybe even further, depending on how other English clubs do), Moyes wasn’t hiding his nerves: “It’s probably the best shot we’ve had in a long time. But when I hear ‘Champions League’? Makes me shake a wee bit, honestly. I’ve been lucky to manage in Europe’s other competitions lately, and if we do make it, I’m sure we’d be able to hold our own at certain stages. Still, the Champions League is just on another level.”
Everton’s next match at Brentford looks huge for their European dreams. Brentford beat them earlier in the season, and right now, both teams are level, separated only by goal difference.
Moyes is clearly enjoying this chapter. “Listen, Europe’s Europe. If someone had said at the start, ‘You’re going to get European football,’ we’d have snapped their hand off. It could be the tiddlywinks European cup, and we’d be up for it. Evertonians want the club back in those conversations. We’re getting attention for the new stadium, we’ve got a couple of England internationals getting noticed more, it’s a good time. If we do sneak into the Champions League, it’d be an unbelievable achievement. But honestly, no matter which competition we make, it’s still a big step forward for us.”
