For Gareth Bale, Spurs is a ‘special club’.
He may have left for Real Madrid seven years ago, but it is clear to see that his love for the Club has never waned. It is as strong as ever.
Nothing was clearer than that when he came back through the doors at Hotspur Way last week, grinning from ear-to-ear and greeting long-serving members of staff like family as he completed his return on a season-long loan from Real.
It has been 13 years since Gareth first signed for us. Joining back in the summer of 2007 from Southampton at the age of just 17, he arrived as a youngster with plenty of potential, but no one could quite predict the stellar future that lay ahead for the Welshman.
Despite a fast start to life in N17 with three goals in his first four starts, injury derailed his early progress. Yet, when he was involved on the pitch, you could see his star quality exuding as his confidence grew. It wasn’t until we moved into 2010 though that Gareth really started to shine in a Spurs shirt.
In the first game of the new decade – a 4-0 FA Cup third round win over Peterborough – he produced an impressive performance which caught the eye, creating two of our goals. From there, he didn’t miss a single minute of action for the rest of the season. We went on a run of just five defeats in our final 26 games in all competitions as we reached the FA Cup semi-finals and qualified for the Champions League for the first time. Meanwhile Gareth made the important switch from full-back to leftwinger.
It was a huge five months for him, but the best was still to come. His goals and assist tallies continued to grow in the following campaign, especially in Europe.
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OBITUARY – JOHNNIE HILLS
We were saddened to hear of the passing of John ‘Johnnie’ Hills, a defender who spent 11 years at the Club as an amateur and professional between 1950-61. He passed away at home in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, 26 November, aged 87.
PAPER CHASE
Club historian John Fennelly looks back at what supporters were reading on their way, at half-time and heading home afterwards when NORWICH CITY visited in March 1938.
RIDE FOR UGO
Laurence Gant, Head of Academy Sports Medicine and Science, is set to take part in a five-day charity cycle in memory of his friend, and our former Under-23s coach Ugo Ehiogu.
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
BIG WIN OVER EVERTON
SPURS WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL ROUND
GAME ZERO ACHIEVES NET ZERO CARBON STATUS
Sky this week published a case study revealing that Game Zero, our Premier League match against Chelsea here in September, achieved net zero carbon emissions.
LIVING IN THE MOMENT
Exclusive interview with our young midfielder OLIVER SKIPP, now an established member of our first team and also a familiar face to today’s opponents, who is enjoying every moment in the Premier League spotlight.
MEET OUR FIRST-YEAR UNDER-18S PLAYERS
TOUGH DAY AGAINST COTTAGERS
TREBLE TOP
Looking back at Spurs hat-tricks scored against tonight’s opposition.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?
A creative midfielder who was full of heart and desire, LEWIS HOLTBY made his Spurs debut against this afternoon’s opposition back in January 2013 and went on to make 42 appearances in our colours, scoring three goals. We caught up with the Germany international to discuss his time at the Club and find out what he is up to now…