Between him and Gray for sure!
-
The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...
Player Pape Sarr
- Thread starter The Fighting Cock
- Start date
Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports
Just finished re-watching the game, and my gosh.
He was the fundament to our victory. Literally everywhere... all the time.
Even if not tackling, at least close and nudging/pushing opposition. Just took the oxygen from City players lungs.
Always hard to compare more defensive/combative players to forwards but has to be at least 3rd best player in City game after Madders and Deki. Though Biss deserves praise too.
Please, now, lets keep that kind of a lineup.
Biss and Sarr in middle (helped to take so much room and left us less exposed) and Kulu on the wing, as his all around play is better than Johnsons. This is the way forward!
He was the fundament to our victory. Literally everywhere... all the time.
Even if not tackling, at least close and nudging/pushing opposition. Just took the oxygen from City players lungs.
Always hard to compare more defensive/combative players to forwards but has to be at least 3rd best player in City game after Madders and Deki. Though Biss deserves praise too.
Please, now, lets keep that kind of a lineup.
Biss and Sarr in middle (helped to take so much room and left us less exposed) and Kulu on the wing, as his all around play is better than Johnsons. This is the way forward!
On Monday, just like every other day, an estimated one million children in England will go to school in dirty uniforms. In the past year, teachers spent £40million of their own money buying pupils toiletries, washing detergent and other personal cleanliness items to counter a growing classroom divide.
The cost of living crisis has left an increasing number of households unable to afford basic hygiene products, leading to teasing in class, school absences, mental and other health problems and knock-on effects like young people lacking the self-esteem to go to job interviews.
Sunday marks the start of a campaign, led by sport, to try to help, with 15 football and rugby clubs hosting matchday donation drives at Multibank depots near grounds around the country. They run throughout December, beginning at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Spurs host Fulham.
The 22-year-old tussles with Ben Johnson of Ipswich Town last month, a match that ended in a shock home defeat for Spurs
KIERAN MCMANUS/REX
Multibanks work like foodbanks but distribute non-food essentials to those in need through charities, social workers, teaching networks and healthcare professionals. There are depots near Spurs’s ground with fans invited to gift soap, deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste before Sunday’s match.
Spurs were the first to sign up. Their drive began with players giving items at the training ground last week, and making the biggest donation — a huge box of toiletries — was Pape Sarr. He also visited a primary school in Wood Green to help kids decorate ornaments that will be hung on a Christmas tree at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Startlingly mature as both a person and footballer at 22, Sarr is not much older than most who Multibank will help. “Football is all about family and helping people, above all children,” he says. “You don’t know what they are going to become in the future so if you have projects like this, which can help the children realise their dreams and above all encourage them to attend school, I think it’s vital.”
He thinks back to his own childhood, in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal. From a middle-class background (his father, Sidate, is a football manager and used to be the goalkeeping coach for the national team), the value of education was instilled in him. His biggest hobby is an unusual one for a footballer: studying computer software engineering.
Sarr, number 17, and Idrissa Gana Gueye help Bamba Dieng celebrate scoring for Senegal at the 2022 World Cup
KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS
His development was at the famous Génération Foot academy in Dakar, which has produced a rich seam of talent including Sadio Mané, Diafra Sakho and Ismaila Sarr. “When I was young the only thought I had in my head was to turn pro and now I’ve achieved that I’m happy and try to make the absolute most of it and enjoy it to the max,” he says.
“It wasn’t all that easy because in Africa nothing is given to you as a gift. Of course, you have to have talent and ability but you also have to make a success of things by never giving in.”
Those last three words encapsulate how Sarr plays. He’s a fine passer, with a shooting technique that should lead to greater scoring numbers as his career progresses, but his elite quality is his running ability, with and without the ball.
It’s a surprise to hear that wasn’t always the case. “I was a bit laid-back as a kid and I didn’t like running and working hard much at all really,” he says. “I wasn’t a player who, if I’m being honest, enjoyed putting in a shift. I just used to wait for the ball to come to me so I could do something with it. I liked to have fun.
“As I grew up, I began to understand football wasn’t about that. You see that involves putting in the legwork yourself to get about the place and ask to be given the ball. So that’s what I continue to do nowadays. I think it’s important for me and the team.”
‘To Run is to Do’ would be Ange Postecoglou’s update of the Tottenham motto. Sarr embodies the Australian’s style. He appreciates Postecoglou’s trust in youth. “I think the coach is like a dad to us,” he says. “Because he helps us a lot, both on and off the field. He gives us advice even in non-football matters. On the pitch we all know he demands a lot but then he’s a real winner. I like him as he doesn’t like losing, he’s very demanding and helps me improve from day to day.”
Sarr idolised Paul Pogba growing up and was pursued by Manchester United in his youth. Perhaps Spurs’s astounding 4-0 win at the Etihad was extra-sweet. “It was an incredible game. It’s not easy going away to City and winning 4-0. We took our opportunities and really enjoyed the occasion: before, during and after the match,” he says.
The million-dollar question: how can Spurs go from losing at home to Ipswich Town to thrashing the champions? “That’s football isn’t it and why the English league is the best in the world,” Sarr says. “But we are still the same team, we work hard in training, we approach each game and play each game in the same way. We played Ipswich the same way we played City.” The keys to more consistency, he believes, are “being more decisive” and “working and training hard, above all from a defensive aspect.”
The kids at school loved his easy-going, humble presence. A particular hope of Spurs’s foundation is that by removing barriers, such as hygiene poverty, the talent of young people can be unlocked.
It practices what it preaches. “I come from a domestic abuse, free school meal, council estate background myself and I live my purpose though my work,” Marc Leckie, the chief executive of the Tottenham foundation, says. “We’ve members of staff who’ve experienced homelessness and been at risk of homelessness. In terms of wider community, we’ve done kind of what the principle of the Multibank is already over the years.
Clubs like Manchester United have been helping local foodbanks for years. Multibanks offer non-food items
ASH DONELON/GETTY
“People who have come through our employment skills programmes, for example, who we are getting job ready, we’ve provided them with whatever they need. That might be getting them a shirt and tie for a job interview, it may be getting some basic hygiene products.”
The next games in the Multibank appeal are Newcastle United v Liverpool on Wednesday and Everton v Liverpool on Saturday where there will be donation depots near St James’ Park and Goodison Park. The campaign then moves to the EFL, with home matches at QPR, Middlesbrough, Bolton Wanderers and Salford City involved, before finishing on Boxing Day with Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United and Southampton v West Ham United. If you’re near a Multibank stadium this month, donate.
He seems pretty much a great kid. He can be as good as he likes.
On Monday, just like every other day, an estimated one million children in England will go to school in dirty uniforms. In the past year, teachers spent £40million of their own money buying pupils toiletries, washing detergent and other personal cleanliness items to counter a growing classroom divide.
The cost of living crisis has left an increasing number of households unable to afford basic hygiene products, leading to teasing in class, school absences, mental and other health problems and knock-on effects like young people lacking the self-esteem to go to job interviews.
Sunday marks the start of a campaign, led by sport, to try to help, with 15 football and rugby clubs hosting matchday donation drives at Multibank depots near grounds around the country. They run throughout December, beginning at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Spurs host Fulham.
The 22-year-old tussles with Ben Johnson of Ipswich Town last month, a match that ended in a shock home defeat for Spurs
KIERAN MCMANUS/REX
Multibanks work like foodbanks but distribute non-food essentials to those in need through charities, social workers, teaching networks and healthcare professionals. There are depots near Spurs’s ground with fans invited to gift soap, deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste before Sunday’s match.
Spurs were the first to sign up. Their drive began with players giving items at the training ground last week, and making the biggest donation — a huge box of toiletries — was Pape Sarr. He also visited a primary school in Wood Green to help kids decorate ornaments that will be hung on a Christmas tree at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Startlingly mature as both a person and footballer at 22, Sarr is not much older than most who Multibank will help. “Football is all about family and helping people, above all children,” he says. “You don’t know what they are going to become in the future so if you have projects like this, which can help the children realise their dreams and above all encourage them to attend school, I think it’s vital.”
He thinks back to his own childhood, in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal. From a middle-class background (his father, Sidate, is a football manager and used to be the goalkeeping coach for the national team), the value of education was instilled in him. His biggest hobby is an unusual one for a footballer: studying computer software engineering.
Sarr, number 17, and Idrissa Gana Gueye help Bamba Dieng celebrate scoring for Senegal at the 2022 World Cup
KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS
His development was at the famous Génération Foot academy in Dakar, which has produced a rich seam of talent including Sadio Mané, Diafra Sakho and Ismaila Sarr. “When I was young the only thought I had in my head was to turn pro and now I’ve achieved that I’m happy and try to make the absolute most of it and enjoy it to the max,” he says.
“It wasn’t all that easy because in Africa nothing is given to you as a gift. Of course, you have to have talent and ability but you also have to make a success of things by never giving in.”
Those last three words encapsulate how Sarr plays. He’s a fine passer, with a shooting technique that should lead to greater scoring numbers as his career progresses, but his elite quality is his running ability, with and without the ball.
It’s a surprise to hear that wasn’t always the case. “I was a bit laid-back as a kid and I didn’t like running and working hard much at all really,” he says. “I wasn’t a player who, if I’m being honest, enjoyed putting in a shift. I just used to wait for the ball to come to me so I could do something with it. I liked to have fun.
“As I grew up, I began to understand football wasn’t about that. You see that involves putting in the legwork yourself to get about the place and ask to be given the ball. So that’s what I continue to do nowadays. I think it’s important for me and the team.”
‘To Run is to Do’ would be Ange Postecoglou’s update of the Tottenham motto. Sarr embodies the Australian’s style. He appreciates Postecoglou’s trust in youth. “I think the coach is like a dad to us,” he says. “Because he helps us a lot, both on and off the field. He gives us advice even in non-football matters. On the pitch we all know he demands a lot but then he’s a real winner. I like him as he doesn’t like losing, he’s very demanding and helps me improve from day to day.”
Sarr idolised Paul Pogba growing up and was pursued by Manchester United in his youth. Perhaps Spurs’s astounding 4-0 win at the Etihad was extra-sweet. “It was an incredible game. It’s not easy going away to City and winning 4-0. We took our opportunities and really enjoyed the occasion: before, during and after the match,” he says.
The million-dollar question: how can Spurs go from losing at home to Ipswich Town to thrashing the champions? “That’s football isn’t it and why the English league is the best in the world,” Sarr says. “But we are still the same team, we work hard in training, we approach each game and play each game in the same way. We played Ipswich the same way we played City.” The keys to more consistency, he believes, are “being more decisive” and “working and training hard, above all from a defensive aspect.”
The kids at school loved his easy-going, humble presence. A particular hope of Spurs’s foundation is that by removing barriers, such as hygiene poverty, the talent of young people can be unlocked.
It practices what it preaches. “I come from a domestic abuse, free school meal, council estate background myself and I live my purpose though my work,” Marc Leckie, the chief executive of the Tottenham foundation, says. “We’ve members of staff who’ve experienced homelessness and been at risk of homelessness. In terms of wider community, we’ve done kind of what the principle of the Multibank is already over the years.
Clubs like Manchester United have been helping local foodbanks for years. Multibanks offer non-food items
ASH DONELON/GETTY
“People who have come through our employment skills programmes, for example, who we are getting job ready, we’ve provided them with whatever they need. That might be getting them a shirt and tie for a job interview, it may be getting some basic hygiene products.”
The next games in the Multibank appeal are Newcastle United v Liverpool on Wednesday and Everton v Liverpool on Saturday where there will be donation depots near St James’ Park and Goodison Park. The campaign then moves to the EFL, with home matches at QPR, Middlesbrough, Bolton Wanderers and Salford City involved, before finishing on Boxing Day with Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United and Southampton v West Ham United. If you’re near a Multibank stadium this month, donate.
Pretty shit performance capped off by an even stupider penalty than Bissouma’s which is saying something
Yeah he was really poor today. Wasn't helped out by his midfield partner being absolutely shit as well. Brainless penalty to give away, got to hope he learns from that.
Fuck me does Kulusevski look old for 24. You could have told me he was 30 and I'd have believed you.
I've also just realized that Bissouma is basically the elder statesman of our regulars.
proper gem this kid.
He's got like 5 career goals and he looks like fucking Dennis Bergkamp for all of them
Nah he's gone up several levels under Ange
Might have 5 already this season btw
Not sure how that negates what I've suggested. Could be the difference between a good PL player and a great one.
Lol. But this tells you something in its self there is a very special player here. Still got massive reservations about the system and coach but this kid might be Paratici finest hour
Top class today 
The engine on him is just insane, just doesn't stop running, don't think I've ever seen him gassed.
His ability to cover ground sets him apart because you can’t teach a tall lanky player with huge strides but is also agile. Most similar profile players can’t hang physically in this league.