Sunderland – Lilywhite Rose

Dennis Cirkin’s decision to move to Sunderland in a permanent deal came as a real disappointment to Spurs fans who keep an eye on the next generation coming through Hostpur Way. With a staggering array of attributes – his reading of the game, technique in both defence and attack, work-rate, surging runs from deep and ability to score and assist – Cirkin had long been touted as the future Spurs left back – at Lilywhite Rose we included him in our Dream Team 2030/31.

But with Sergio Reguilón, Ben Davies and Ryan Sessegnon bloking Cirkin’s path, it was clear regular first team opportunities would be limited for the foreseeable future. The decision to move to Sunderland to play senior football rather than spend another year with Spurs’ youth teams was an understandable one.

We have a look at some of the other promising Spurs starlets who decided their future lay elsewhere and, like Cirkin, made moves in a bid to fast track to first team football. This is how they have got on:

Noni Madueke

Noni Madueke was one of the most highly rated players to come through Hotspur Way, captaining Spurs’ Under 16 side and making his debut for the Under-18s aged just 15.

However, in 2018, Madueke reportedly rejected offers from Chelsea and Manchester United (as well as declining a new contract with Spurs) and instead joined PSV Eindhoven in search of a clearer pathway to first team football.

He has been a revelation in the Netherlands, scoring 18 goals and contributing 10 assists in 47 appearances for PSV (including four goals in six games for their reserve team Jong PSV in the Dutch second tier). He has hit the ground running this season, already scoring five goals in six games across all competitions.

Now 19, the winger could be set for a return to the Premier League with the England Under-21 international linked with a host of clubs, including Spurs. A £20 million fee may be enough to bring one of the most exciting talents in Europe home.

Reo Griffiths

Reo Griffiths was lethal while at Hotspur Way, scoring 44 goals in 60 games for Spurs’ youth teams. Four of them came in one game against Arsenal.

Yet, like Madueke, Griffiths saw his future elsewhere and moved to Lyon in 2018. Unlike Madueke, he has not yet enjoyed the same success.

Playing for Lyon’s B side in France’s fourth tier, Griffiths has scored goals steadily and captained the team on a number of occasions. However, he is still to make his debut for Lyon’s first team proper.

The 21-year-old is now in the final year of his contract and has recently joined Peterborough United on trial.

Keanan Bennetts

2018 saw a summer exodus of promising talent, with Keanan Bennetts joining Griffiths and Madueke in looking abroad for a fast track to first team football.

In all Bennetts played 69 games for Spurs’ youth teams, with 14 goals and 16 assists marking him out as a winger of great potential. A £2 million move to Borussia Mochengladbach therefore came as a surprise.

However, now aged 22, his career is yet to really take off. An initial season with Gladbach’s reserves was followed by a loan spell with League One side, Ipswich Town. While Bennetts made 30 appearances for the Tractor Boys, half of them came as a substitue.

He has since return to Gladbach’s first team, coming off the bench in both of their games so far this season.

Marcus Edwards

Despite being one of the most naturally gifted players to ever come through Spurs’ Academy – with Mauricio Pochettino describing him as ‘similar to Messi’ – Marcus Edwards only ever made one competitive appearance for the Lilywhites.

Loan spells to Norwich City and Dutch side Excelsior produced mixed results and Edwards made a permanent move to Vitoria de Guimaraes in 2019.

Edwards has since rebuilt his career in Portugal, with 12 goals and 12 assists in 72 appearances for Vitória offering a decent return. A transfer to Sporting Lisbon looked to be on the cards earlier this summer (with Spurs set to earn a 50% sell on fee) but that move seems to have gone cold.

Luis Binks

While all players on this list made transfers abroad, none moved further afield than Luis Binks.

The loss of Binks was significant. It had been some time since Spurs had produced a high quality home-grown centre back and it was felt that the England youth international was only a year or two away from first team football. His reading of the game, comfort on the ball and leadership qualities shone through even from an early age, and he was viewed as Toby Alderweireld’s long-term successor.

Despite a late intervention from then-manager Jose Mourinho, the centre-back made a surprise move to the MLS last year, moving to Montreal Impact. Binks made an instant impression, making 26 appearances before moving to Montreal’s sister club, Bologna F.C.

Binks will be hoping to continue his development in a league famed for breeding the world’s best defenders.

Slavoj Zizek, a Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic (or ‘left-fascist’ according to the Telegraph) decreed that, “in football, we win if we obey the rules; in politics we win if we have the audacity to change the rules.” Paolo Di Canio must like rules because he announced upon appointment at Swindon, “if someone has an appointment at 9.30, I can’t accept that they turn up at 9.45.” Of course, this is not the conclusive proof of fascist ideological affiliation that everyone is looking for, a quest in which he has already ordered repudiation – “I don’t have to answer this question any more.” A very authoritarian start then, but that is a characteristic somewhat revered in a football manager. So does Di Canio have point?

Many would prefer matters relating the beautiful game and its unifying and escapist qualities to be kept separate the minefield of political allegiance. Surely however, there is room for a healthy debate, and although this may not be found on the back or indeed front of the tabloids, the political persuasions of those in the upper echelons of the footballing ruling classes ought to brought into sharp focus. After all, the much cited ‘fit and proper persons’ filter scarcely does what it says on the tin.

It is spurious to say that the media circus surrounding Di Canio’s appointment is a product of a quiet news week for sport (ie no British sides in the Champions League) – the story is as weighty as one Sunderland centre-back. Discussion regarding Di Canio’s suitability as a manager of an elite football club has not resulted from scrambling around for non-story in the mould of a fail-safe Terry/Ferdinand furore during another mind-numbing international break on these shores. Nor has evidence subject to media scrutiny (the notoriously anomalous “I’m a fascist, not a racist” quote) been taken out of context like the gratuitous collective faux-fury in response to Hilary Mantel’s speech on Kate Middleton’s human-as-object media depiction.

The Di Canio affair is perfect year-round media fodder, and its controversial impact cannot simply be reduced to an analogous case of ‘a vegetarian managing a team of meat-eaters’. A TalkSport caller provided that particular gem, making Harry Redknapp’s “the reason I don’t listen to phone-ins is because you’re talking about idiots” aphorism as true as ever.

The captivating chain of events as told by the media (with plenty of mileage to go) has encompassed the local mining history of Sunderland which literally provides the foundations to the Stadium of Light, a departure by already NYC bound Mr David Miliband, some terrible PR by Sunderland outlining their ‘strong ethos AND ethics‘, and Di Canio flatly refusing to convey any ideological political leanings before a dramatic u-turn the day after. Furthermore, whilst the replacement of Martin O’Neil could ultimately make footballing sense, the tale goes to the heart of the seemingly contagious short-termism amongst owners of the football clubs that we plough our heart and soul (and cash reserves) into. The question in respect to the definition of a fascist in this post-modern era, at home and abroad, also abounds.

The nature of Di Canio’s fascist beliefs and how it sits specifically in English football has been a latent issue, bubbling under the surface of the national game for a while. Many have pointed to the lack of attention placed on Swindon’s decision to appoint the Italian in 2011 and yet this can easily be put down to their status as a League 2 side. Besides, as small-fry as GMB’s commitment to Swindon was, the union’s withdrawal of its sponsorship was a gesture which made national news.

In addition, an example of one of the many vile outbreaks of anti-semitic abuse courtesy of West Ham fans at White Hart Lane in November was a ‘Paolo Di Canio’ chant dedicated to their former hero accompanied in some quarters by a certain gesticulation. It doesn’t take a leap of faith to guess where they got their inspiration. Paolo’s ‘Roman’ salute is an act that has manifested itself on more than one occasion in the presence of Lazio’s Irriducibili (ultras). Notably, S.S. Lazio are a club who have actually been sanctioned the heavy punishment of playing competitive games behind closed doors by UEFA, an organisation known for its antipathy towards repeat offenders of racist behaviour in football.

There is a hypothetical case to be made that Di Canio would have been given an easier ride had he been appointed as England Head Coach. Capello’s extolling of Franco was never really explored in the media, whilst his hardly heroic resignation on the basis of John Terry losing his captaincy (again), was barely questioned in favour of excitedly lining up good old ‘Arry as his replacement. Our self-serving news publications have proven themselves to hold highly questionable (xenophobic) standards when national pride in a sporting sense is at stake.

It is all to easy to leave one’s morals at the door in the wholehearted support of a club one loves but a line ought be drawn at some point. The now former Chairman of Sunderland’s Greater Manchester Supporter’s club branch has found it, although the Durham Miners’ Association have backed down and the majority of the Sunderland faithful will continue to attend matches in legitimate blind faith. Nevertheless, in increasingly compromising times to be a football supporter, the relationship between footballing loyalty and political alignment in this country is an issue of significance in which light has been shed (see Barney Ronay’s surprise at ‘English football’s sudden discovery of a political conscience‘). Intriguingly, and it would be all too easy to forget, we will also soon see how this mad appointment plays out on the pitch.

@dan2fc

Tag: Sunderland

The former Spurs starlets who flew the nest