Month: July 2023

Spurs Under 21’s versus Enfield Town: (match preview)

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Spurs’ Under 21 side will play their first friendly game of pre-season on Tuesday evening (the game starts at 19:30pm) when they face local non-League side Enfield Town. Spurs’ Development side have often played the Isthmian League Premier Division side in recent pre-seasons, and the friendly which takes place at Enfield Town’s Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, always provides a good test for Wayne Burnett’s Spurs side at this stage of pre-season. Enfield Town faced QPR’s Development side at the weekend, with that game finishing 1-0 to QPR. This annual pre-season fixture always provides the Spurs Development side with a good pre-season test, as they look to build-up their match fitness for the beginning of the new Premier League 2 season. Some of the Spurs Development side players missed the end of last season (2022/23), because of injury. Players such as Tyrell Ashcroft, Will Lankshear and Jude Soonsup-Bell, all missed the end of last season because of injury, so it will be interesting to see whether they all return for the Enfield Town friendly, tomorrow. This will be a physical first test of pre-season, with many of the Enfield Town players having a lot of experience of playing senior football. I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow. It’s the start of a long season for the Spurs Under 21 side, but hopefully it will be a good one for the team.

I wish the Spurs team all the best for the friendly match with Enfield Town, and I will be doing the first of my many match reports after the game tomorrow.

My predicted lineup: (4-2-3-1) Maguire, Paskotši, Dorrington, Lyons-Foster (c), Linton, Cassanova, John, McKnight, Robson, Santiago, Soonsup-Bell.

Substitutes from: Gunter, Andiyapan, Sayers, Ashcroft, Heaps, Hall, Ajayi, Williams.

Injured/unavailable: N/A.

Doubtful: N/A.

Previous meeting: Spurs 2-3.

My score prediction: Spurs 3-0.

My one to watch: Lewis Taaffe. The experienced and versatile 31 year old Enfield Town player is someone that the Spurs players will have to be aware of on Tuesday. Lewis Taaffe has an eye for goal and his experience in the game will makes him one of the Enfield players to watch on Tuesday evening, for the friendly match with Spurs’ Under 21 side.

A piece on Spurs’ Academy player Jahziah Linton, ahead of his first season with the Spurs Development Side:

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Spurs Academy player Jahziah Linton primarily plays at left-back, although he is also capable of playing in central defence. The 18 year old first year professional who featured a lot for the Spurs Under 18 side last season in 2022/23, is a left-back with a good balance to his game. From South London, Jahziah was a member of the 2022/23 Under 18 Premier League Cup winning side, with the Spurs Under 18 side. Now approaching his first season with the Spurs Under 21 side, Jahziah has had good experience of regularly playing for the Spurs Under 18 side over the last two seasons, and last season he was often Spurs’ first choice left-back at that level. Jahziah likes to get forward up the pitch on the left flank, and his link-up play with the Spurs winger on that side of the pitch is impressive. A good defender, Jahziah Linton started last pre-season well, putting in a really good performance against Indian side Kerala Blasters, a game in which Jahziah scored a goal in, and he was not unlucky to score another goal during the same game. Jahziah would also feature for the Spurs Under 21 side later on, during the same pre-season. As I previously mentioned, Jahziah’s fine balance to his game means that he is very capable of contributing well at both ends of the pitch, and he was another player who made good strides in his footballing development during 2022/23.

Impressing against the likes of Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa, for Spurs’ Under 18 side last season, Jahziah Linton was an important member of Stuart Lewis’ side who achieved really good things during the 2022/23 season. Jahziah will be competing with Tyrell Ashcroft, Will Andiyapan and Maxwell McKnight for a starting place at left-back in the Spurs Under 21 side this season. However, like the other players mentioned, I can see Jahziah getting a good amount of game time for Wayne Burnett’s side in 2023/24. He works well off the ball, is good in the tackle and is also as previously mentioned, a player who gets in to really good forward positions on the left side of the pitch. I wish Jahziah all the very best of luck for the 2023/24 season.

A short piece on the Spurs Academy players/graduates who have been called-up for the Spurs first team’s 2023 pre-season tour:

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With Spurs yesterday announcing the squad list of the Spurs players who have been included in the first team squad for their pre-season tour of 2023, I thought that I would write a piece on the Spurs Academy players who have been included in Ange Postecoglou’s squad. I haven’t included Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp in this piece, as they have already played a lot for the Spurs first team. Troy Parrott unfortunately missed out on the tour because of injury. The tour begins in Australia and ends in Singapore, via a trip to Thailand for a match with Leicester City. However, in this short piece I will write a short piece on each of the following Spurs Academy players/graduates who have been included in the squad. I wish them all the very best, and hope that they all get some game time over the course of the three friendly matches.

The players:

Brandon Austin: 24 year old Spurs goalkeeper and Academy graduate Brandon Austin is a player who has been around the Spurs first team for a good number of seasons, despite going out on a couple of loan moves during this time. However, the player who featured for the Spurs first team during some friendly matches last season for Spurs, actually might not be a goalkeeper that Spurs fans know a lot about. Brandon is one of the best shot-stoppers that I have ever seen at Academy level. With great reflexes, Austin has a lot of experience from playing for Spurs at Under 18 and 21 level in the past, where he really impressed. Often featuring on the bench for the Spurs first team over the last couple of seasons without featuring for them in a competitive match, Brandon is a goalkeeper who also commands his penalty area really well, and who is very vocal on the pitch. I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see Brandon get a good amount of minutes for Spurs on this first team pre-season tour.

Alfie Whiteman: Like Brandon Austin, goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman is also 24, and has been part of the Spurs first team set-up for a good while. Alfie is another very good young goalkeeper who has progressed through the Spurs Academy, and he is a solid all-round goalkeeper with impressive reflexes. He is confident out on the pitch, and like Brandon, Alfie has also gained experience out on loan. Hopefully Alfie will also get some minutes for Spurs’ first team during this pre-season tour. He is a former England youth international, and a goalkeeper who has real quality to his game, and he has impressed for Spurs’ first team in pre-season before.

Josh Keeley: The 20 year old goalkeeper and Republic of Ireland Under 21 international was the first choice goalkeeper for Spurs’ Under 21 side last season, in his debut season for Spurs. Keeley impressed with his distribution and reflexes last season, certainly not lacking in confidence on the pitch for the Spurs Development side in 2022/23. Despite being younger than both Alfie Whiteman and Brandon Austin, Josh Keeley is also very vocal on the pitch, and he also traveled with the Spurs first team to their pre-season tour last season.

Harvey White: A midfield player who I’m really hoping to see get a good amount of game time for the Spurs first team this pre-season, 21 year old Spurs Academy graduate Harvey White is a player who has real quality with the ball. Harvey spent the second half of last season in League One with Derby County, after having made his Premier League debut for Spurs shortly before joining them. With a great left foot and vision for a forward pass, Harvey used to play in the CAM position before moving to central midfield for Spurs at academy level. A set-piece specialist who works really well off the ball, Harvey is tenacious, but his ability on the ball to influence a game has been demonstrated many a time for Spurs at Academy level. A standout member of a very talented Spurs Academy age group, the versatile midfield player will be eager to impress Ange Postecoglou this pre-season.

Alfie Devine: Former Wigan Athletic Academy player Alfie Devine has done really well since joining Spurs as a first year scholar in 2020. Already having featured for the Spurs first team and scoring for them, Alfie as a CAM is someone who is able to create really good pockets of space for himself in and around the penalty area. He is a really good finisher, who regardless of where he plays in midfield, is very good at carrying the ball long distances with both skill and pace. He has all of the attributes to have a great career in the game, and the England Under 20 international is a player who I wouldn’t be surprised to see go out on loan from Spurs at some point this season. However, during his time with the Spurs first team this pre-season, Alfie Devine will be hoping to make a real impression in matches, such is the quality that he has with the ball.

Dane Scarlett: 19 year old centre-forward Dane Scarlett spent last season out on loan with League One side Portsmouth. Scarlett is a really good finisher inside the penalty area, and he is also very good in the air, with good movement off the ball. Dane would have gained a lot of experience from playing regular first team football with Portsmouth last season, and the player who has already featured for the Spurs first team in the past, is a player who can also play out wide on the flanks, but I still think that his best position is at centre-forward. Dane was in excellent form for the Spurs Under 18 side during the 2020/21 season, before stepping up quite regularly to the Spurs Under 21 side during the following season.

A piece on Spurs’ Development side midfielder Dante Cassanova, after he signed his first professional contract with the club:

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It was announced by Spurs earlier today that 19 year old Academy midfielder Dante Cassanova had signed his first professional contract with the club. Dante is a defensive-midfielder, but he is also a versatile player who can play in a number of different positions, such as at full-back. The London born footballer had made his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 18 side prior to joining the club as a scholar, and during the next two seasons he would captain the side on a good number of occasions. Dante Cassanova did spend some time with Derby County at academy level during his second season as a scholar, before returning to Spurs for the start of the 2022/23 season, but that was to be a season that he unfortunately missed a lot of games in, because of injury. Dante as a defensive-midfielder is a player who is good at breaking up play on the pitch and at making tackles, but he is also good on the ball. He works very well off the ball and is a good reader of the game. However, Dante is an impressive set-piece taker, and he has provided a good number of assists for Spurs at Academy level, especially from corner-kicks, where his set-piece delivery is very good.

It was unfortunate that Dante missed much of his first season (2022/23) full-time with the Spurs Under 21 side. However, this season Dante will hopefully get a good amount of game time in 2023/24. He can also play at right-back, where he is defensively solid, and Dante has done a good job in that position in the past for Spurs at Academy level. I would like to wish Dante all the very best of luck for this season. He could feature for the Spurs Under 21 side next Tuesday, when they face Enfield Town in their first friendly game of pre-season.

A piece on Spurs’ Development Side defender Alfie Dorrington, after a 2022/23 season of great strides, and a 2023/24 season of great promise:

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Just under a year ago I wrote a piece on Spurs’ then second year scholar Alfie Dorrington, and his 2021/22 season with Spurs. A tall centre-half with skill on the ball that is so good that he could easily play in midfield, Dorrington was an important member of the Spurs Under 17 and Under 18’s side that won their respective Premier League Cup’s last season. The Enfield born first year professional enjoyed a great season in 2022/23, and Alfie Dorrington was a real presence in the Spurs Under 18 side, as well as also featuring for the Spurs Under 21 side on 12 occasions last season, in competitive competitions. Alfie also played in five of the six UEFA Youth League group-stage fixtures, for the Spurs Under 19 side during the same season. His commanding style of defending as well as his positivity on the ball, and ability to go on long and skilful surging forward runs out of defence, made Dorrington a real standout player in the Spurs Academy last season. Definitely one of the Spurs Under 18’s very best players in a memorable season in 2022/23, the Spurs player even featured as a substitute in a mid-season first team friendly with Scottish side Motherwell. 

Alfie is in my opinion one of the very best footballing centre-halves that I have ever seen in the Spurs Academy set-up, and last season his consistency and ability to step-up to the Under 21 side well, made it a very good season for Alfie. Similar to top players who have progressed through the Spurs Academy ranks in the recent past, such as Brooklyn Lyons-Foster and Luis Binks, like those two very good players Dorrington has a really good balance of his game. The England youth international is a strong and physical central defender, and in an EFL Trophy game with Wycombe Wanderers’ first team last season, Dorrington had in my opinion an excellent game for Spurs’ Under 21 side, as he helped them to keep a clean-sheet. This game really highlighted the quality that Alfie has in his game, despite then being a second year scholar. Impressing defensively by making some important defensive interventions such as blocks, the Spurs Academy player was also impressive and composed on the ball. Having so many good games for the Spurs Under 18 side last season, the player who I likened to being like a defensive play-maker with the ball in my piece that I wrote last year, went on a fantastic long run with the ball in last seasons’ Under 18 Premier League Cup final with Aston Villa. Eventually setting-up a Jamie Donley goal.

Impressing in games against the likes of West Ham United’s Under 21 side, Arsenal’s Under 21 side and Marseille’s Under 19 side last season, in my opinion Alfie really made great strides in his footballing development. I think that the 2023/24 season promises a lot for Alfie, with the very talented Spurs prospect stepping-up to the Spurs Under 21 squad on a permanent basis for the first time. I really wouldn’t be surprised to see him quickly becoming an integral part of that Spurs side in the Premier League 2 this season. Alfie showed great maturity in games last season for Spurs at Academy level, and after a great 2022/23, I’m looking forward to seeing how Alfie does for the Spurs Under 21 side on a much more permanent basis this season. I wish him all the very best for this season.

My piece on Spurs’ Development Side defender Will Andiyapan:

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Will Andiyapan is a Wales youth international at Under 19 level, and the now first year professional with Spurs is a very versatile defender, who is very capable of playing anywhere in defence. The Watford born player who was previously with the Arsenal Academy set-up prior to joining Spurs, is a player who I personally think will have a good season in 2023/24, a season in which he will step-up to the Spurs Under 21 side in. I first saw Will play for Spurs at Academy level on his competitive debut for the Spurs Under 18 side, in a heavy defeat to Chelsea right at the start of the 2021/22 season. He was Spurs’ best player in that game, a game which he started on the left side of central defence in. I was impressed with his reading of the game, decisiveness and pace in that match, against a very good Chelsea side. Will would make a good number of appearances for the Spurs Under 18 side during the 2021/22 season, in a number of positions in defence for Spurs (he provided two assists during that season). Then in the following 2022/23 season, Will Andiyapan made further good progress for Spurs.

In the 2022/23 season Will would feature for Stuart Lewis’ Spurs Under 18 side in the vast majority of their matches. He would also make his debut for the Spurs Under 21 side, as well as featuring in four of the six UEFA Youth League group-stage fixtures that Spurs played last season. As I have written about before, I’ve always thought that Will is a very good reader of the game who is good at making defensive interventions in games, whether he be starting matches at full-back or in central defence. He is always alert and is a good tackler, but Will is also calm and composed in his defending, as well as being good on the ball. An important player for Wales at youth level, the 18 year old who only recently signed his first professional contract with Spurs had a number of very good games for Spurs at Academy level over the last couple of seasons. Regardless of whether he is playing at left-back or in central defence, Will likes to get forward on occasions to support the midfield. Impressing last season in games against the likes of Marseille (at Under 19 level, in the UEFA Youth League), Peterborough United (in the EFL Trophy) and against Crystal Palace, I personally think that Will has definitely made some really good strides during his two seasons as a scholar with Spurs.

This season at left-back, Will Andiyapan will be competing with Jahziah Linton and Tyrell Ashcroft for a starting place at left-back in the Spurs Under 21 side. However, his ability to play anywhere in defence should mean that he hopefully gets a good amount of game time this season. The player who featured for Spurs’ Under 18 side in their successful Under 18 Premier League Cup final win against Aston Villa last season, is a player who I look forward to seeing this season for the Spurs Development side, and I wish him all the very best for this season.

Where are they now? Former Spurs Academy player Tom Glover:

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Tom Glover was in the Spurs Academy set-up for a good number of years, from the 2014/15 season up until the end of the 2018/19 season (Tom did go out on some loan moves away from Spurs during this time). A goalkeeper, Tom Glover is from Sydney in Australia, and he had previously played for Sutherland Sharks, prior to joining the Spurs Academy set-up. Tom is a goalkeeper who I always thought was capable of making excellent saves, owing to his really good reflexes. A talented goalkeeper, Glover made good progress with Spurs during his first couple of seasons with the club, even travelling with the first team as the third choice goalkeeper. A former Australia Under 23 international, Glover would return to Australia for the 2017/18 season, after he joined A-League club Central Coast Mariners on a loan move away from Spurs. He would however, return to Spurs for the 2018/19 season, and Tom would make his final ever appearance for the Spurs Under 23 side in a 3-1 away win against Blackburn Rovers, in the September of 2018. Tom Glover would then join Swedish side Helsingborgs IF on a loan move for a short time.

At the end of the 2018/19 season Tom’s contract with Spurs wasn’t renewed. He would join Australian A-League side Melbourne City in 2019, who he would enjoy some successful seasons with, with Melbourne City being crowned the Australian champions in two successive seasons. The former Spurs man did well for them, and  he was signed by Championship club Middlesbrough on a three year contract just last week. This is a really good move for Tom on his return to England, even if he isn’t the first choice goalkeeper for Middlesbrough next season. It will be interesting to see how Tom gets on with Middlesbrough over the next couple of seasons. Tom was always a goalkeeper who I thought would do well in the game, from his time in the Spurs Academy. He made some excellent saves for Spurs and had some really good games, and I still remember one particularly excellent save that Tom made against Liverpool in an Under 21 game at Stevenage during the 2015/16 season! I wish Tom Glover all the best for the season ahead with Middlesbrough.

Where are they now? Former Spurs Academy player Kazaiah Sterling:

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Kazaiah Sterling was a centre-forward who was clinical in front of goal, during his time in the Spurs Academy set-up. Formerly of the Leyton Orient Academy set-up, Kazaiah would rise up through the Spurs Academy ranks during his time at the club, and he would sign scholarship forms with the club for the 2015/16 season. He would go on to have a good goalscoring record at both Under 18 and Under 21 level for Spurs. Calm and composed in front of goal, I was always impressed whenever I would turn up to Spurs Academy games and watch the pre-match training/warmup, where Kazaiah often always seemed to score with pretty much all of his efforts on goal in the pre-match training routine around the penalty area. The player who would feature on two occasions for the Spurs first team in competitive matches, did have quite a lot of injuries while he was with Spurs full-time. However, if you look back at his goal record for Spurs at both Under 18 and Under 21 level, it is impressive. A hardworking centre-forward with good movement off the ball, Kazaiah had some really good games for Spurs at Academy level, and he had a good variety to his finishes. He was also unlucky on several of his loan moves away from the club, because of injuries.

Kazaiah went on several loan moves away from Spurs, to clubs such as Sunderland, Doncaster Rovers and Greenock Morton. He didn’t however, play a lot of games for either of these sides. He would leave Spurs at the end of the 2020/21 contract, after Kazaiah’s contract was not renewed. Kazaiah would join non-League side Potters Bar Town for a short time, but he missed quite a lot of games for them because of injury. However, in 2022 the former England youth international joined American USL League One side South Georgia Tormenta FC. And since joining them Kazaiah has scored a really good amount of goals. In fact he has scored 21 goals from 36 competitive appearances for South Georgia Tormenta FC, as well as providing a decent amount of assists from those games. And the 24 year old has scored three goals in his last six USL League One appearances. Last season (2022), Kazaiah helped South Georgia Tormenta to make the play-offs of the USL League One, from which they won the championship. It is really good to see Kazaiah playing consistently and doing well, after all of his injury problems. I wish him all the very best for the remainder of the current USL League One season.

Some notes on Spurs’ Development squad player Tyrell Ashcroft:

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Former Reading Academy player Tyrell Ashcroft would feature on four occasions for Reading’s first team during his time with them. Tyrell, who was born in Frimley, Surrey, but brought up in Berkshire, joined Spurs’ Academy set-up only last summer from Reading. The 19 year old who has mainly played at full-back since joining Spurs, actually once played in defensive-midfield against Spurs at Under 18 level, in a Premier League South game for Reading (during the 2020/21 season), which finished 4-4. I watched every game that Tyrell played for Spurs at Academy level (not including any behind closed doors games) last season, before he very unfortunately sustained a serious knee injury in a Premier League 2 game against Blackburn Rovers, during the September of last year, which ruled him out for the remainder of the 2022/23 season. The following short piece is just on Tyrell Ashcroft’s style of play, from the games that I watched him play in for Spurs’ Under 21’s and Under 19 side last season. As a full-back, I thought that from the games that I saw Tyrell Ashcroft play for Spurs last season, that he had a good balance to his game.

Tyrell impressed me in three games in particular for Spurs at Academy level last season, from the limited amount of games that he played. For the Spurs Under 19 side while playing at left-back against Marseille in the UEFA Youth League, Tyrell demonstrated impressive reading of the game, as well as having a good all-round game. However, for the Spurs Under 21 side, the then recent Spurs signing had in my opinion a very good game against Wycombe Wanderers in an EFL Trophy group-stage fixture, as he helped Spurs to keep a clean-sheet from the left-back position, although he also got forward well in the game against Wycombe, showing some good pace as he got up and down the left flank. And in the final game, once again at left-back (Tyrell can also play at right-back) in a Premier League 2 fixture away to the PL2 champions Manchester City, I thought that Tyrell had a really good game, up against some really good players on his side of the pitch, regardless of the fact that Manchester City played a lot of that game with ten men, they still saw a lot of the ball. The then first year professional made some really good overlapping runs down the left side of the pitch, had a good chance to score a goal, but he also kept good defensive positioning throughout the game.

It was really unfortunate that Tyrell sustained a serious knee injury so early on in his time with Spurs. However, hopefully he gets to return to playing for the Spurs Under 21 side during the early stages of this season, to slowly work his way back to full match fitness. He is a player who I am looking forward to seeing more of next season for Spurs, and I wish him all the very best for the season ahead. Personally I can see him starting a lot of games at left-back next season for the Spurs Under 21 side.

Where are they now? Former Spurs Academy player Shilow Tracey:

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During his time in the Spurs Academy set-up Shilow Tracey primarily played as a winger. Joining Spurs from non-League side Ebbsfleet United during the 2015/16 season, Shilow did play in central midfield for a while after joining the club, while he was with the Spurs Under 18 side. However, despite sometimes playing at centre-forward in following seasons with the then Spurs Under 23 side, Shilow Tracey played a lot of games as a winger (he can play on either flank) for Spurs in the Under 23 side. Very direct with the ball and also very fast, Shilow has a good work rate off the ball as well. During his time in the Spurs Academy set-up he was one of the fastest players in the Spurs Academy. Always looking to take players on in wide positions, Shilow likes to get to the byline to deliver crosses into the penalty area. However, he also has an eye for goal, as he showed during his time at Spurs. I thought that one of Shilow’s best seasons for the Spurs Under 23 side came during the 2019/20 season, a season in which he provided a good number of assists in, and was also very creative for Spurs’ Under 23 side in, before being loaned out to Macclesfield for the second half of the season.

Shilow did feature once for the Spurs first team, as a second half substitute in a pre-season friendly with Spanish side Girona. However, after his loan move to Macclesfield came to an end after the 2019/20 season had finished, Shilow Tracey joined Shrewsbury Town in League One during the early stages of the following 2020/21 season. However, after not starting many games for Shrewsbury during his time there, Shilow later joined Cambridge United on loan for the second half of the season. I thought that he made a good impression on matches that he played in for Cambridge United during his time there. He would help them win promotion to League One that season, along with former Spurs Academy player Jubril Okedina. Shilow would join Cambridge United on a free transfer in the summer of 2021, after his contract with Spurs had come to an end. During the following season he made 26 League One appearances, scoring two goals and providing two assists. And during the season just gone with Cambridge United, Shilow played 37 League One games, scoring one goal and providing three assists.

The former Spurs man left Cambridge however, at the end of last season, after his contract with them was not renewed. Shilow has since joined League Two side Crewe Alexandra on a two year contract, which is good news. I’ve always thought that Shilow would have a good career in the Football League since leaving Spurs, and the 25 year old is doing exactly that. I reckon that he’ll have a really good season with Crewe, and I wish Shilow all the very best of luck for the season ahead. Just yesterday (Saturday the 8th of July), Shilow provided an assist for Crewe, in a 5-0 friendly win against non-League side Halesowen, on his debut for the club.