Tottenham Week in Review, Monday 9th November: Winning Run Ends as De Zerbi's Spurs Stumble at Leeds Amid Bogle Red Card Storm
It's been a week of two very different halves for Spurs. The good times continued from the Crystal Palace win, with Football.London reporting that Roberto De Zerbi's side broke two Premier League records in that 2-0 victory (Football.London), while Spurs Web highlighted two record-breaking passing stats as evidence the team are really starting to purr under the Italian (Spurs Web). Archie Gray, who scored the opener against Palace, and Mateus Fernandes both pointed to the same factor behind the turnaround, according to Football.London (Football.London), and Jamie Carragher declared that "Tottenham are back" even if he feels there's still one area to improve (Spurs Web). Former defender Ashley Williams went further, tipping Spurs for a genuine title charge after three straight Premier League wins (Spurs Web), and De Zerbi himself picked up a Manager of the Month nomination as reward for the run (TottenhamHotspur.com).
Then came Leeds United away, and the mood soured. Spurs Web reported that Tottenham's 39-game Premier League run came to an unwanted end with a 1-0 defeat at Elland Road that exposed a recurring flaw (Sports Mole), with Noah Okafor's goal enough to end the three-match winning streak (Football.London). Spurs Web's winners and losers piece called it a "dreadful" afternoon with barely a positive to take (Spurs Web), while their match report suggested De Zerbi simply got his selection and approach wrong on the day (Spurs Web). Sandro Tonali admitted parts of the game were "tough" and pointed to a recurring mistake Spurs kept making, as relayed by Football.London (Football.London), while De Zerbi gave a notably guarded response when quizzed about the officiating afterwards (Football.London); his full post-match press conference is available on the club's official site (TottenhamHotspur.com).
The biggest flashpoint of the defeat was Leeds defender Jayden Bogle's challenge on Mathys Tel, which forced the winger off injured. The Sun reported De Zerbi was left furious that no red card was given (The Sun), and Xavi Simons took to social media to criticise what he saw as VAR inconsistency (Spurs Web). Pundits are split: Glenn Hoddle argued it was "serious foul play" in his disagreement with a former assistant referee according to Football365 (Football365), Mike Dean delivered a "100%" verdict that it should have been a red (GiveMeSport), and ESPN reported De Zerbi questioned the officiating while Daniel Farke defended Bogle as "my butterfly" (ESPN). Sky Sports reported Spurs are now submitting a formal complaint to Pro Ref over the incident (Sky Sports), and Football.London later confirmed Tottenham received a unanimous red card verdict following that complaint (Football.London). There was also late drama in the Palace game, with former referee Dermot Gallagher weighing in on whether Spurs got fortunate with Jean-Philippe Mateta's dismissal (Spurs Web), and separately talkSPORT reported the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel has admitted Cole Palmer should have seen a straight red in the earlier London derby (talkSPORT).
On team news, Football.London reported a triple injury blow for De Zerbi ahead of the Leeds trip (Football.London), though the club's official site confirmed both Rodrigo Bentancur and Tosin Adarabioyo were available for the clash (TottenhamHotspur.com), and earlier in the week Destiny Udogie posted what Spurs Web described as a strange fitness update after missing out (Spurs Web). The Evening Standard rounded up the latest on Tel, James Maddison and Savio, noting Wilson Odobert's own recovery timeline from the ACL injury he suffered against Newcastle in February continues (Evening Standard), with Spurs Web adding more detail on Odobert's progress separately (Spurs Web). Elsewhere, the Evening Standard reported Sweden have called up Dejan Kulusevski for the November break as he continues his return from a long-term kneecap injury (Evening Standard).
The academy continues to catch the eye. Luca Williams-Barnett made his first-team breakthrough against Crystal Palace, with ESPN reporting De Zerbi believes the 18-year-old is ready to start matches (ESPN), and Football.London confirming his involvement again in the Leeds lineup (Football.London). De Zerbi outlined the "next step" in his development, as detailed by Spurs Web (Spurs Web), who also reported a poll showing 65% of fans want him handed a full debut (Spurs Web), and that the club's thinking has shifted towards keeping him rather than loaning him out in January (Spurs Web). Spurs Web also looked back at the last ten academy graduates to make their Premier League bows (Spurs Web).
On the transfer front, a busy week of reports linked Spurs with numerous forwards including Eli Junior Kroupi (Spurs Web), Folarin Balogun (Spurs Web), Donyell Malen (Spurs Web), Younes Ebnoutalib (Spurs Web), Ibrahim Maza (Spurs Web) and others, while Football365 reported claims that Lucas Bergvall could be sold to Barcelona in January, with Spurs Web countering that the club have "big aspirations" for the midfielder despite the interest (Football365) (Spurs Web). Finally, in non-match news, The Sun reported former Spurs defender Ramon Vega has officially announced his candidacy to stand against Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency (The Sun).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
