Tag: premier
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Tottenham finally have a fully-fit first XI – so can they now mount an unlikely Premier League title challenge?
ANGE POSTECOGLOU finally has all his big-hitters available this weekend for the first time since taking over.
Now he will be looking to prove the doubters wrong and show Tottenham are genuinely in the title race.
Son Heung-min (left) is set to return against Brighton on Saturday[/caption]
Straight-talking Postecoglou claimed back in mid-January that it was possible his Spurs side could win the league this year.
The 58-year-old said: “Yes, we are (in a title race) and I’ve said all along that until the point where you’re not, why would you discount the possibility?”
At that point they were six points off table-topping Liverpool. A little under a month on, that gap has extended to seven.
Most pundits and fans cannot envisage the North Londoners winning their first-ever Premier League crown come the end of the season.
Indeed, a supercomputer over at number-crunchers Opta calculated on Tuesday that fifth-placed Spurs have less than a 0.1 per cent chance of finishing top of the pile.
But given how dominant his side were from August to October, when they were first after an unbeaten opening ten games, Postecoglou will certainly not be throwing in the towel.
The only key player they were missing during those initial three months was classy midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur who was still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained in February.
Though September’s blow when Ivan Perisic suffered a complex ACL issue of his own was keenly felt too, even if the veteran winger was largely used as an impact sub.
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Then all hell broke loose on November 6 with that unforgettable 4-1 home defeat to rivals Chelsea, when they had two players sent off as well as losing star men Micky van de Ven and James Maddison to serious hamstring injuries.
Further injuries and suspensions followed, while Son Heung-min, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma all headed off on international duty to the Asia Cup and Africa Cup of Nations respectively.
Yet, slowly but surely, Postecoglou has got all his main men back.
And for the first time in his tenure, he should be able to pick his strongest XI at home to Brighton on Saturday.
That is providing ex-Seagulls star Bissouma is fit after a reported bout of malaria while with Mali and that Son is ready after South Korea’s shock exit to Jordan on Tuesday. The 31-year-old is due back in Tottenham training on Thursday.
Should that pair be fit and available, Postecoglou could go with what may well be his preferred team of: Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Bissouma, Bentancur, Maddison; Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son.
The competition for places would be decent too with Timo Werner, Sarr and Brennan Johnson all making strong cases to start as well.
Postecoglou has always been confident of having a stronger second half to the season than the first, believing his team would have wised up to his methods by then.
Should that come to pass, then it is not beyond the realms of possibility that they are in the mix come the end of campaign – no matter what the Opta AI suggests.
They have some serious ground to make up but they have three winnable home games up next (curiously, all at 3pm on a Saturday) in Brighton this week, then Wolves, then Crystal Palace.
Is this Postecoglou’s best side?
RODRIGO BENTANCUR is one of many Spurs stars Ange Postecoglou has been unable to call upon every week this season due to injury.
But the Uruguayan is fully fit now and Postecoglou finally has all his main stars back, giving him the chance to pick his best XI.
SunSport predicts that to be:
Vicario;
Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie;
Bissouma, Bentancur, Maddison;
Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son.
Then follows a tough trip to Aston Villa, currently two points above them in the table, and they would likely have to win that to stay in contention.
The ultra test, though, comes in the back end of April going into early May.
They host Manchester City, then Arsenal and then go to Liverpool.
It is a frightening trio of fixtures but Postecoglou has managed to eradicate the fear from this team during his short time in charge.
And, remember, he has not lost to any of those sides in the league this term, either.
It is a long shot, of course it is.
Then again, Postecoglou is at the peak of his powers now from a selection perspective, which is something we have never seen before.
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I quit my banking job to start my own business – it’s so successful even Premier League legend Raheem Sterling loves it
A WOMAN quit her high-flying banking job to start her own business – and it’s so successful even Raheem Sterling loves it.
Mariam Jimoh went from working in the banking industry to starting up a digital supermarket focussing on African and Caribbean foods.
The Premier League legend has invested in Mariam’s brand, Oja[/caption]
The successful entrepreneur, from a Nigerian household, recalled not always being able to find traditional Nigerian food such as yams, plantain and okra in her local grocery shops.
Mariam had to visit her parent’s home or source out Afro-Caribbean markets if she wanted a taste of home.
This is what sparked her to leave her established role in the corporate world in 2018 to make the food she loved at home easier to access for herself and others.
The business woman told MyLondon: “The only time I could really get groceries was by ordering online or in advance but there was just a group of products that I didn’t have access to: my oxtail, plantain, and okra – it just made me think about why it is so hard to find these.”
The woman had reached out to several people asking where she could find the food items online but no one had any answers for her.
This is when Mariam started her brand Oja – meaning “market” in Yoruba, a nod to her Nigerian roots.
It is the UK’s first digital supermarket that focusses on African and Caribbean foods.
Mariam believes that locating these very specific items in the physical market can be extremely difficult – as world food isles are not as varied as they could and should be.
She said she “wanted to streamline that process and find a way to deliver products to you when you need them fast”.
Mariam recalls having waves of positive responses from customers when she launched Oja in 2020 – and even said the website crashed due to the amount of people trying to use it.
Oja has since expanded beyond a single London postcode and now covers the entirety of Greater London.
The service now also caters for cultures ranging from Nigeria to Somalia to North and East Africa as well as the Caribbean.
Oja now offers a Halal range and beauty and haircare products too.
Premier League legend Raheem Sterling also invested in the business.
Sterling said: “There is such a natural connection with Oja for me. I can get my favourite home comforts, like Biggas and plantain chips, and having access to these products at short notice is amazing!”
Marian recalled meeting Sterling for the first time and bonding over meals that their mums cooked them as well as the connection with classic foods from home.
Sterling has invested in Oja alongside LocalGlobe- showcasing their strong beliefs in the brand and what it stands for.
It comes after a woman set up her own business after taking a £12 Wowcher course and now runs a successful brand.
And Rachel Laryea revealed how she made an extra £119,000 after turning her childhood passion into a thriving side hustle.
Oja is the UK’s first digital supermarket that focusses on African and Caribbean foods[/caption]