It’s been an emotional ride for Tottenham fans for the past couple of weeks. Nothing new there then. First there was the joy at signing Mohammed Kudus from arch rivals West Ham with Spurs apparently also adding Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest in a seemingly unprecedented £120million signing spree. Happy days!
But no, hold your horses there, cowboy. This is Tottenham we’re talking about. The Gibbs-White affair developed into a farce before collapsing and new manager Thomas Frank still looks short of numbers in a squad expected to fight on four fronts this season.
The first north London derby to be held out of the United Kingdom soon brought the smiles back on the faces of Spurs fans as they beat Arsenal 1-0 in Hong Kong thanks to a Pape Sarr’s wonder goal from the centre circle.
It will go down in N17 folklore alongside the last-gasp, long-distance strike from Nayim, which sank the Gunners in the 1995 European Cup Winners’ Cup final in Paris, and David Bentley’s screamer from way out in the epic 4-4 draw at the Emirates Stadium in October 2008.
Best of the lot from Tottenham’s perspective was the unbelievable free-kick from Paul Gascoigne which rocketed over the Gunners’ defensive wall and beyond David Seaman’s despairing dive to set up a 2-1 victory for Terry Venables’ side in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
But the high provided by Sarr’s strike evaporated just a couple of days later as Son Heung-min announced he is leaving the club after ten glorious years.
It was news that all of football expected but he leaves on a high with his legacy set in stone after an incredible career which has yielded 173 goals in 454 games with 101 assists, a Premier League Golden Boot, the Puskas Award for European goal of the year thanks to his incredible solo effort at home to Burnley and, of course, lifting the Europa League trophy following the 1-0 victory against Manchester United in Bilbao.
But what’s next for the Spurs and South Korea captain? He looks set to move to Los Angeles FC, where he will be reunited with former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and it is only 1/3 with BetVictor that the 33-year-old dynamo joins a Major League Soccer side.
Spurs are now expected to add a marquee player to their attack and although Arsenal are just 4/7 favourites with bet365 to sign Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze it is worth having a dabble at 12/1 with the same firm that Tottenham hijack the move.
League One odds
There’s lots to like about Newport County off the pitch, especially their new away kit which pays tribute to Bilbao’s Athletic Club and in particular Basque Boys FC, formed from the ranks of 236 children given homes by the wonderful Welsh after escaping bombing by Franco’s fascists during the Spanish Civil War.
The club, fittingly nicknamed The Exiles, are also supported by terrific indie band The Bug Club but although everything is set up for success off the pitch at Rodney Parade they have struggled on it.
A 1-1 home draw with Notts County on Saturday was a bright start to their new League Two campaign but Newport could slip out of Football League at 15/8 with BetVictor after avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth last season.
Paul Cook, the experienced lower-league coach not the Sex Pistols drummer, has won four promotions as a manager including taking Chesterfield into League Two a couple of seasons ago. The former Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth boss has bought wisely during the summer and the Spireites are 11/2 with William Hill and bet365 to win the title and 6/5 with the former firm and Betfred to gain promotion.
Michael Cheek was the top scorer in the division last season with 25 goals as newly promoted Bromley punched above their weight and the Nuneaton-born striker, who turns 24 later this month, is each-way value at 12/1 with Betfred and BetVictor to top the charts again.
Tennis odds
Elena Rybakina and Marta Kostyuk face each other over the net in an all-Ukraine affair at the Canadian Open in Montreal and the former is 3/1 with Ladbrokes, Coral, SpreadEx and Sporting Index to win after a deciding set on Sunday evening.