West Ham will play Tottenham Hotspur in their first match after the international break, and both teams are in good form going into the London Derby.
Tottenham have had a much busier summer than West Ham and have strengthened many areas of their team. To get the ‘Inside Track‘ on the Spurs, GSH has spoken to three Tottenham fans.
One is MT fitness founder and Tottenham fanatic, Chris Wyles. The second contribution is from Jack who runs Tottenham Twitter fan page Hotspur Lane. The final contribution is from Tottenham YouTuber Chris Cowlin.
1. What are the aims for Tottenham this season?
CC: Spurs have to win a trophy! It’s also vital that we finish in the top 4 and get back into the Champions League for next season. Most Spurs fans are expecting Jose Mourinho to deliver trophies at the club – they are long overdue – our last domestic trophy being the League Cup back in 2008.
We have a fantastic new stadium, wonderful training facilities, a serial winning, experienced manager and some world-class players in Kane, Bale, Son and Lloris – so we now need all of the pieces of the jigsaw to come together and trophies generated and put in the cabinet!
CW: Prior to the transfer window I think it was about us not getting any worse. Then with the signings of Hart, Doherty and Hojbjerg, we were looking at a side that could compete in and around the top 6. Now with Reguilon, Bale and Vinícius added there is a belief that Spurs can finish in the Top 4 and have a realistic chance of claiming a trophy this season.
HL: A Trophy!! After the summer we have had expectations are high, top four is a minimum. José has started to win the majority of the fans over and we seem to have never had a better squad on paper. If José Mourinho cannot win a trophy with these lads then I think we could actually be cursed.
2. Who are Tottenham’s danger men?
CC: Without a doubt – Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son, and of course, Gareth Bale. We have seen time and time again what Sonny and Kane can do, and it’s wonderful to watch. Just in these few games at the start of this season you can see how good their relationship is and the awareness that both of them have, knowing where the other is – it’s incredible!
Right now, I would firmly say that Spurs have the best front line in the Premier League, without question – so the real danger for any opponent is Tottenham’s front three! I expect Bale to be on the bench for this game and then come on at around 60-70 minutes, a real ‘welcome Bale’ moment, and he may even grab a goal on his return!
CW: There’s a few… Good for us, not for you! A front three of Son, Kane and Bale is freaky. Jose has Kane playing the deeper role he occupied in the first two years of Pochettino’s reign and funnily enough, he’s looking like that all action forward once again.
With Bale and Son making run’s behind, Reguilon and Aurier/Doherty charging from deep as well as Kane, Giovani Lo Celso and a rejuvenated Ndombele supplying them West Ham are going to have to put one hell of a performance in to stop us scoring.
You’ve got to remember that all of those front three plus Lo Celso are very capable from range, particularly Bale who’s capable of producing a magic moment, so a low block won’t necessarily nullify Spurs. It’s the first time in a while I genuinely can’t tell you how to stop Spurs from scoring.
HL: The front three! Kane, Son and Gareth Bale. If I had to pick one, excluding Gareth Bale (yet to see him play) then I would go for Harry Kane. He’s taken on a much different role this season. His link-up play has been sublime and the key factor as to why Heung Min Son’s form has taken off. Those three together is something I can’t wait to see!
3. How good is it to have Gareth Bale back?
CC: An incredible feeling. All of us Spurs fans have been given such a huge lift. He looks sharp, and its looks like it will be this game where he will make his second Tottenham debut. Just such a shame I won’t see this live in the stadium.
He is a player that has been there and won everything and can turn a game, create and score – he has it all – re-signing him after seven years away is a dream come true.
CW: It’s hard to describe. It just doesn’t really happen in football. You think when United lost Ronaldo and how they were pining after him for years. It’s hard for us to know what his return has done for the dressing room, but everyone at the club looks buzzing.
He’s not the player of a few years ago, but he is only 31-years-old and has basically been rested for two years. His quality in the training videos shows he’s still clearly world-class. It might take a little while to get up to full speed, but that left foot of his is going to cause some damage this season.
HL: It is beyond comprehension. To me and many others, he is like a real-life superhero. He made my childhood. I was one of the few that had always said he would come back but as the years went on I garnered more doubts.. To see him back in Tottenham is a dream come true and if he so much as even kicks a ball for us then that’s a bonus. So excited to see what a happy Gareth Bale has left to offer Tottenham!
4. What have you made of West Ham so far this season?
CC: Up and down – defeats against Newcastle and Arsenal, and then incredible results against Wolves and Leicester! The result at Leicester was an eye-brow raiser as I wasn’t expecting that. With the form that Spurs and West Ham have going into this game it should be a good one, a game I’m really looking forward to.
CW: What a turnaround! It was only a few weeks ago we were joking you’d do well to pick up a point in the first couple of months of fixtures. Good to see Wilshere out of your hair, he wasn’t exactly helpful to the team’s efforts.
You have to be excited with a couple really class performances, especially the Leicester game, and it certainly makes me nervous. It’s a shame your board are such tools; West Ham is just waiting to explode as a top club in England, if Spurs can do it then you definitely can!
HL: after the first two games of the season not going to plan and all the club has had to endure off the pitch, with Moyes testing positive and the unrest with the board, it’s a testament to the squad to pick up a massive 4-0 and 3-0 win against two top 7 sides from last year. I can imagine West Ham will be up for spoiling Gareth Bale’s return party.