NORMAN GILLER'S SPURS ODYSSEY BLOG No 557
Submitted by Norman Giller

Here we go again! This is the 78th year, from way back in the Push and Run era, that I have had to steady my nerves ready for the start of a new season - and this one, 2026-27, comes packed and packaged with promise and potential. And I'm not taking the 'p'.

I think our toughest problem, starting with Brentford on Saturday, will be recognising the players in manager Roberto De Zerbi's new-look, revamped Spurs. Here are the main comings and goings, with perhaps more business still to be done in this very obviously post-Daniel Levy era:

. Sandro Tonali: Defensive midfielder from Newcastle United, £108m.
. Mateus Fernandes: Central midfielder from West Ham United, £99m.
. Jan Paul van Hecke: Centre-back from Brighton, £60m
. Marcos Senesi: Centre-back, a free transfer from Bournemouth.
. Andy Robertson: Left-back, a free transfer from Liverpool.
. Martin Dubravka: Goalkeeper, a free transfer from Burnley.

Among the departures are skipper Cuti Romero to Atletico Madrid, Djed Spence to Inter-Milan, Luka Vuskovic to Brighton and Manor Solomon to West Ham. And we could be losing Lucas Bergvall to Manchester City.

There was no way Romero could return to Spurs after his emotional Falklands/Malvinas demonstration during the World Cup. We will miss his talent but not his temperament. I am sure like me you were on the edge of your seat every time he made a challenge. In many ways a magnificent player, but with too many flaws for comfort.

Congratulations to the Spurs PR department for the way they organised the return "home" of World Cup winner Pedro Porro. He got a hug from virtually every staff member. You could almost reach out and touch the club spirit and it's a hopeful sign that good days are ahead.

I personally am sad to see Djed Spence go. He has his best footballing years ahead of him and managed to rise above the disowning comment of then Spurs manager Antonio Conte when he arrived from Middlesbrough: "I have had nothing to do with his signing. He is an investment by the club."

What a way to boost his confidence! But Djed rose above the sniping to show during the World Cup finals that he can be exciting and explosive. Inter have got a snip.

As I write this first blog of the new season, Spurs continue to be linked with the enigmatic, Galatasaray-based Victor Osimhen in competition with (sshh) Arsenal, and they are still trailing Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson. For those of us with bruised memories of closed transfer windows, it is rewarding that at least Spurs have been atomically active this time round.

After the relegation fight and fright of last season, we long-suffering Spurs supporters are entitled to expect massive improvement and I am confident De Zerbi will encourage the sort of attacking football that is/was a tradition that we older supporters took for granted.

With captain-elect James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski eventually to be pronounced fully fit, De Zerbi will hopefully be able to satisfy even the most vociferous follower. Let's not forget how the relegation rat race turned many of our fan base into a moaning mob, who took no prisoners with their barracking of Spurs players. Please get behind the team, not in its way.

One promise - no dehydration breaks that turned the world Cup games into matches of four halves. If in the current heatwave weather the players do have to take drink breaks it will not be to satisfy the TV advertisers. We are just thirsting for action.

On behalf of Spurs Odyssey guru Paul H. Smith and me, welcome to the new season. It's going to be interesting! COYS.

This is Alan Silver, the latest holder of the coveted Spurs Odyssey Quiz League championship. The retired 74-year-old pharmacist from Shenley in Hertfordshire starts the defence of his title with many of you determined to give him a taste of his own medicine (For newcomers to my Blog, this is as good as it gets ...).

Here we go with the first week of our returning quiz that tests your knowledge of Tottenham players and the club's history ...

Who was capped 119 times by his country, scored one goal for Spurs, later moved to Highbury and from which club did he join Tottenham?

Email your answer to me at soqleague@gmail.com and make the subject heading Quiz Week 1. Deadline: midnight this Saturday. I will do my best to respond to all who take part.

Answer in next Monday's Blog here at Spurs Odyssey.

The rules are the same as in the previous 12 seasons. I ask a two-pronged question with three points at stake - two for identifying the player and one for the supplementary question. In the closing weeks of the competition I break the logjam of all-knowing Spurs-history experts with a real stinker of a tie-breaking poser that is based on opinion rather than fact. This is when I lose what few friends I have.

This season's main prize will be a framed certificate announcing the winner as SOQL champion 2027, plus three signed books to be revealed at a later date. Warning: Three times winner David "Know All" Guthrie will be competing this season in search of a fourth title.

Alan Silver is our oldest ever champion, and has survived as a Spurs supporter since first seeing them play more than 65 years ago. For that alone, he deserves a medal.

I am hoping that Alan will take part in helping me build a digitised collection of stories about the historic 1960-61 Double season for forthcoming generations of Spurs fans who are led to believe football started with the Premier League. Please let me have your Double year stories or those of relatives and/or friends and email them to me at normangiller@gmail.com.

Ps You can still get the perfect post-free gift of my World Cup 1966 book at www.normangiller.co.uk It's got lots of Greavsie in it and is a lasting tribute to the greatest season in English football history. And don't forget it was a Spurs-raised man - Alf Ramsey - who made it all possible.

See you back here next Monday, same time, same place. COYS.