United-Spurs: Why do Tottenham always get the short end of the transfer stick?
Football! Who remembers that? Premier League football specifically, of course. Our German brethren have been doing a stirling job of filling the soccer-shaped void in our lives over the last couple of weeks. Albeit in unavoidably underwhelming circumstances. It has the essence of the real thing; the stadiums are nice and all the players look capable enough, but somehow it’s not quite right without the fans. The Westfalenstadion, more than most, will suffer from the lack of supporter input. We’ll get used to it, I’m sure.
Anyway, the Premier League is back on June 17th, barring any unforeseen developments in the COVID-19 pandemic, which, let’s face it, isn’t hard to imagine. All being well, Spurs’ next match will be against Manchester United, presumably at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. According to the data on gambling360, it doesn’t fall into the potentially hostile derbies category which might cause fans to turn up at the venue.
Indeed, while Spurs versus United might not be the biggest fixture in the calendar, there’s certainly been some transfer intrigue between the two clubs over the years. The pattern was always straightforward enough during the Premier League era: they buy our best players, we vacuum up the muck.
Teddy Sheringham was the biggest heartbreaker for me. I was just at the right age where I simply couldn’t believe my favourite player had left for another club, let alone Manchester United. I felt betrayed, more so than the Sol Campbell affair, when I more understood the dastardly nature of competitive football.
Michael Carrick left in 2006, and despite an initial struggle carrying the cement block weight of the number 16 shirt after Roy Keane’s departure, went on to have an illustrious 12-year career at Old Trafford in which he won literally everything. Honestly, look it up. He won the lot.
The next kick in the teeth came two years later with the Berbatov-saga. The mercurial Bulgarian’s short spell at Tottenham was one of the most entertaining periods of the pre-Pochettino era. The Europa League runs, the 6-4 against Reading, the touch, the nonchalance. It was great. Of course he would eventually leave for United. It didn’t make it any more enjoyable when it happened.
What do Spurs get in return?
And what have Spurs received in return since the Premier League began? Well, I’ll give you a clue, we didn’t engage in much of the buy-your-best-player shenanigans. It wasn’t really our game. Not like those you can play at casinojoka casino en ligne. The most we managed was a eleventh-hour petrol station flowers-style loan swoop for Frazier Campbell, which got entangled in the Berbatov deal. It was like selling Elvis and getting Dappy.
Elsewhere, former Man United youth academy prospect Zeki Fryers joined Spurs in 2013, via Standard Liege. Again, it’s not exactly comparable to the joy United extracted from our finest, as Fyers managed just 7 appearances in two seasons in North London and won literally nothing. Honestly, look it up. He won the nothing.
Welcome back, football!
