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Tottenham Team of the 21st Century: Fan group Daily Hotspur pick out their best Spurs players of the last 20 years

By Sporting Life

Football

Wed April 01, 2020 · 5y ago

We've enlisted the help of the Daily Hotspur fan group to pick out the best Tottenham players of the last 20 years.

Tottenham have been blessed with some fantastic players over the last 20 years despite not having too much by way of trophies to show for it.

Their style of play has always been easy on the eye, entertaining and attacking and that means there is plenty of choice when picking out a best XI of the last 20 years.

It's a tough job, so we've brought in Jamie Brown from @Daily_Hotspur to give us his choice of the cream of the Tottenham crop.

Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris saves Ilkay Gundogan's penalty

Lloris has been an integral part of Spurs’ recent successes. Despite having the odd shaky moment, his shot stopping has made him one of the best goalkeepers on the continent.

His World Cup triumph with France also pays testament to his quality and I hope he can soon lift a trophy for Spurs.

Full backs: Danny Rose and Kyle Walker

When Spurs were at their most dangerous under Mauricio Pochettino, having Rose and Walker as the two full backs was one of our biggest assets.

Spurs have rapidly declined in both full back positions with the club unable to find adequate replacements for the pair.

Had we been able to keep hold of Walker and Rose hadn’t of declined because of injury, I suspect we’d have won a trophy.

Centre-back: Ledley King

Former Tottenham captain Ledley King

King will go down as one of many supporters’ all-time favorite players. His ability and loyalty to Spurs was truly magnificent and seeing him lift the League Cup in 2008 was a very special moment. Unfortunately, due to injury we never quite saw him reach his full potential, but for a player who was often unable to train because of a knee issue, he was a truly brilliant player.

Centre-back: Jan Vertonghen

Vertonghen looks set to leave the club in the summer after eight years, but like Lloris, he has been a key part in Spurs’ rise over recent years and will be very fondly remembered.

Midfield: Mousa Dembele and Luka Modric

It’s quite fitting to have these two partnered together in midfield, with Dembele being signed to replace the departing Modric in 2012.

Both are quite comfortably the most talented and most enjoyable to have watched at Spurs this century.

Modric’s Balon d’Or speaks for itself and in the case of Dembele ask any teammate or supporter about his quality and many will label him as the best they’ve seen.

Attacking midfield: Christian Eriksen

Christian Erkisen: The Danish midfielder celebrates after netting an 88th-minute winner for Spurs v Brighton

Christian Erkisen: The Danish midfielder celebrates a goal for Tottenham

Eriksen, meanwhile, became effectively the heartbeat of Spurs’ best side under Pochettino.

Although positionally he played a different role to Modric, Spurs were incredibly fortunate to have found a player capable of replacing the Croatian’s creativity.

Right-wing: Heung-min Son

Needless to say, Sonny is an incredible player, but one of the biggest things about the South Korean has been his ability to always perform in key moments.

When Kane has been out inured, Son has always been the player to fill the void and without him, the run to the Champions League final would have been very unlikely.

Striker: Harry Kane

Harry Kane scores Tottenham's third against West Ham

Harry Kane: Tottenham forward scores against West Ham

Saving the best until last. One of our own. Kane means everything to Spurs fans. Not only did he come through our academy, he’s also become one of the best players in the world.

His goal scoring achievements are quite remarkable, and should he remain at Spurs, Alan Shearer’s Premier League all-time scoring record could well be broken.

Left-wing: Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale: Welshman now at Real Madrid

Like with Modric, Bale’s achievements at Real Madrid speak for themselves. Whilst at Spurs, he was one of the most exciting players our fans have ever seen.

When he received the ball you always expected something dramatic to happen. His breakthrough year under Harry Redknapp in the Champions League was amazing – watching him rip apart the defending European champions, Inter Milan, twice were two hugely fond memories.

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham celebrate their incredible comeback at Ajax

Not even close.

Pochettino took the club to heights Spurs supporters never dreamt we could go. Title challenges, regular Champions League football and of course, even making it all the way to the final of the competition.

It’s absolutely gutting not to have seen him lift a trophy at the club – but hopefully he has left a lasting impact - setting us up for future success.

Bench: Paul Robinson

Since Martin Jol’s time at Spurs from 2004 to 2007, the club have enjoyed a steady rise following a miserable time in the 90s. During that time, Robinson was both the club’s and England’s number one. Under Juande Ramos, he went on to lift the League Cup with the club.

Bench: Toby Alderweireld

For £12 million, Spurs have enjoyed outstanding value on Alderweireld. He’s proved to be a key addition for Spurs having formed a formable partnership with Vertonghen.

Bench: Rafael van der Vaart

Spurs fans will all tell you that the signing of van der Vaart from Real Madrid back in 2011 was the most exciting addition the club have made in many years. Van der Vaart was absolutely adored by the supporters and having him along with Bale and Modric was very special.

Bench: Dimitar Berbatov

Despite the way he joined Manchester United, the fact Spurs fans still think of him very fondly speaks volumes about his quality. He did everything so effortlessly and partnered with Robbie Keane, he was huge in helping Spurs lift the League Cup.

Bench: Jermain Defoe

Personally, Defoe is my all-time favorite Spurs player - his natural goal scoring ability was sensational. I think he was hugely underrated and during a time when Spurs weren’t quite as successful, it’s amazing a move to a bigger club never quite materialised.