Tagebuch » od." NOTES: Mauer has two homers and 11 RBIs this

As a one-club man who played in 14 consecutive Premier League seasons, former Tottenham captain Ledley King is a legend at White Hart Lane. But while King did lift the League Cup in 2008, he never got to play in a Spurs side quite as strong as the one Mauricio Pochettino has forged this season.In an interview with Sky Sports, King tells us who is Tottenhams unsung hero, why Eric Dier still has a future in defence and why hed love to have played under Pochettino… Why Diers future could still be in defence…It depends on him really in terms of what he wants, but I havent changed my mind on him as a defender. I still feel that however how good he has been this season - and he has been exceptional - having had that experience in midfield, once he goes back into defence hell be able to see the game in a whole new light. It will benefit him if he ever does move back. King feels Eric Dier will find life easier now if he moves back into defence But theres no reason for him to move right now. Hes doing a great job for the team and hes enjoying it. With him being a natural defender, hes filling the gaps really well. If the centre-half does get dragged out, he seems to be in there filling the hole. There seems to be a really good balance there. Its a strong unit thats working really hard together.Why Dembele is an unsung hero…Mousa Dembele has become much more of an all-rounder. He used to be more of an attacking player in his early Spurs days but now he seems to be all over the pitch and is defending very well too. He has got so much flair but what goes unnoticed is how hard he works. Key Battle: Dembele v Schneiderlin Matt Cheetham looks at the stats that show how the midfield battle could be key on Sunday. With the strength he has, he just breaks things up in that midfield. When people try to go past him, he just pushes them off the ball and makes it look easy. Sometimes that can go a bit unnoticed. If youre not sliding around the pitch you might think hes not doing anything, but hes a really important player for the team.Why Spurs youth players are so excited…Pochettinos record in working with young players is exceptional. Hes someone who puts his arm around players off the pitch and they just seem to respond to him. His track record in improving players and, in particular, developing players whove gone on to play for England is amazing.I got to work with Josh Onomah quite a bit last season as I was working down there and hes a real good talent too. Its great that we have players who, when they are performing in the youth team, there is the chance for them to make that step up. Josh Onomah and other Spurs youngster can see a pathway to the first-team You have to have a manager who believes in you and is willing to give you that chance otherwise no matter how well youre doing at youth level then you just wont get there. I think everyone in the youth team and the under-21s will be training and playing that much harder in knowing that if they do perform well therell be chances in the first-team.Why hed love to have played in this Spurs team…As much as you go onto the pitch and try to do the right things, much of it depends on the organisation, the preparation and people doing their jobs. Everyone seems to know their jobs at the club now. Were an organised team. King played with some talented players at Spurs but they didnt hit these heights Thats why were getting results. They put the work in and theyre getting the rewards. As talented as my group of players were, we just lacked a little bit of the organisation thats required at the top end in order to get the real results.Its a long time since I was fit - youd have to go back to when I was 25 or 26 for me to be free of injury and thats such a long time ago - but to have played in a team like this at the peak of my powers would have been great. Im just so proud of the current team at the moment and how they are doing.Why Spurs future is bright no matter what happens…Obviously, Leicester are in pole position now. All Tottenham can try to do is win their remaining games and hope that somewhere along the way Leicester make a few slip ups. They can only take it one game at a time and try to nip away at that lead. King believes there are three teams in the Premier League title race If they can claw two points back this weekend and another two soon after that then who knows? But the next couple of results are going to be huge. Finishing above Arsenal is something that hasnt been done for many years so that would be a big achievement. But no matter what happens now, its been a fantastic season for Spurs.We have Champions League football again and the players will be a lot stronger for knowing what it takes at the top end of the table. I fully expect more improvement next season for having had this experience.Why Pochettino should ignore any interest from elsewhere…We all know Manchester United is a huge club but at the moment there is a lot of uncertainty there with whats happening. At Tottenham, things seem to be very well balanced. Hes got a group of young players who are singing to his tune so Im sure hes just concentrating on finishing the season as well as possible. Mauricio Pochettino is being coveted by other teams but King feels he should stay If youre a player playing well then people will be after you and its the same for a coach. But thats part of the enjoyment of it and I think this manager is enjoying the challenge right now of working with these young players. Hes in a great place with a new stadium on the way, so I think the manager is very happy where he is.This season Barclays is giving one fan the chance to present the Barclays Premier League trophy to the Champions. Could you be the one? Search Barclays Spirit of the Game to enter. Also See: Key battle: Dembele v Schneiderlin Shreeves meets Alli Buy Shoes Black Friday . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday . The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . Argentina, who have yet to beat New Zealand in 17 meetings, rocked the All Blacks with an early converted try to backrower Juan Manuel Leguizamon and led 7-0 after five minutes. But Smiths double in the 23rd and 26th minutes - when Argentina was reduced to 14 men by the sin-binning of hooker Eusebio Guinazu - turned the tide of the match and set up New Zealands third straight Championship win. Fake Shoes Black Friday . After making his All-Star debut in Fridays Rising Stars Challenge, the Raptors sophomore centre wont be sticking around for the duration of the weekends festivities, thinking about the big picture instead. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . -- Mississippis Andrew Ritter said his game-winning, 41-yard field goal felt good off his foot.MINNEAPOLIS -- A few key made things a lot easier for Kevin Correia and the Minnesota Twins. Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier both homered, Correia earned his first win of the season and the Twins ended their four-game losing streak by beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 Saturday. Mauer entered the game batting .136 with runners in scoring position, but had three hits and four RBIs. His three-run shot in the seventh off reliever Brad Brach to break open the game. Mauers RBI single with Dozier on second in the fifth inning broke a 1-for-30 team slump with men in scoring position. "You can go back and make us look as bad as you want to and then I can throw more numbers at you and make us look better," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "But yes, lately we have been struggling, but were facing pretty good pitching. We went through a little bit of a dry spell, but Ill take my chances." A day after failing to score a run in starter Ricky Nolascos nine-inning performance, Minnesotas batters took a more-aggressive approach against Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-2). Chen threw a season-high 108 pitches in five innings, watching Twins hitters foul off several pitches to keep him on the mound for some long at-bats. "Were still being aggressive, we lost that in the past couple of days," Dozier said. "We let a lot of fastballs go by, especially with men in scoring position and were not that type of team and thats not what were taught." Doziers eighth homer, a solo shot off Chen in the third, gave the Twins the lead for good. "I was able to get ahead in the count a lot of times," Chen said through a translator. "I tried to make a good pitch to get hitters out and I couldnt do it like in my previous outing. So I was kind of having trouble." Correia (1-3), meanwhile, worked efficiently through Baltimores lineup, allowing five hits in seven innings. He won for the first time since last Sept. 1, a span of nine starts. Correia walked none, struck out three and retired 13 of his final 14 batters. Casey Fien and Jared Burton combined for two innings of sscoreless relief.dddddddddddd "Like Ive always said, thats what Im here to do," Correia said. "I felt like Ive thrown some games where Ive had a good chance to win a game and to go a month without getting one is hard, it just puts more pressure on you every time you go out there so its nice to get that first one." Adam Jones scored Baltimores only run in the second after reaching base despite striking out. He fanned, but the wild pitch got past catcher Kurt Suzuki, allowing Jones to make it to first. J.J. Hardys single tied it at 1. But Minnesota regained the lead when Dozier led off the third by hitting a full-count pitch from Chen into the left-field seats. "Especially with the performance last night by Nolasco and Correia today, you want to get runs in for your guy and you know I was happy was able to do that today," Mauer said. "Yeah, its been a little frustrating trying to get runners in, but today we got enough for our guy, which was good." NOTES: Mauer has two homers and 11 RBIs this season -- all at home. ... Orioles manager Buck Showalter plans to get a look at LHP Johan Santana next week in extended spring training before the team begins a series with Tampa Bay. Santana was supposed to make his spring training debut in Sarasota, Florida, on Saturday, but the game was rained out. The two-time Cy Young winner recovering from shoulder surgery is expected to throw Monday instead. "Its still a little early, but hes had no setbacks and his velocitys inching up," Showalter said. ... Twins slugger Josh Willingham is still experiencing soreness in his recovery from a broken left wrist, and is backing off from taking infield swings, Gardenhire said. Gardenhire also said OF Aaron Hicks is still feeling the effects from a concussion suffered Thursday night. "I dont know how long its going to be," Gardenhire said. ... The two teams finish their three-game series Sunday when RHP Miguel Gonzalez (1-2) makes his sixth start of the season for Baltimore. Minnesotas Phil Hughes (2-1) will try for his third straight win. ' ' '