Tottenham Hotspur take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League final day this weekend in what will be a party atmosphere in North London.
- Date: 25/05/2025
- Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, North London
- Kick-Off Time: 16:00
At long last, Tottenham Hotspur have their hands on silverware. Years of near-misses, heartbreak, and relentless ridicule from rivals across England and beyond were finally silenced this week as Spurs triumphed over Manchester United in the Europa League final, lifting silverware and writing a new chapter in the club’s history.
The monkey on the club's back has been a heavy one for quite some time now, and there was a feeling that the mounting internal pressure to win a trophy was really starting to hold the team back. Thanks to Ange Postecoglou and his players, though, Spurs can call themselves champions for the first time in nearly 20 years as they lifted one of Europe's most sought-after trophies.
The hope now is that this will free the club of their shackles and provide a platform for Tottenham to kick on and reach the next level as a club. Maybe that'll be the case, but let's not beat around the bush, this is a heavily flawed team with a very uncertain future. Regardless of what happens here, Spurs will finish with their lowest points total of the Premier League era, a number that may well see them finish 17th. Postecoglou's men have been utterly dismal in the league but remarkably, they'll now compete in next year's Champions League.
There is a cohort of Spurs fans who still want this weekend to be Postecoglou's last game in charge of the team. That now seems unlikely, but it underscores just how poor Spurs have been outside of their exploits in Europe. They need a huge revamp in the summer to deal with the demands of Champions League football next season and more to the point, they need to drastically improve the flaws in their existing unit.
Brighton come into this game with faint hopes of securing European football for next season still alive. The Seagulls are in 8th place, three points ehad of Brentford with an inferior goal difference. If they can hold on to 8th place and Chelsea can both beat Real Betis in next week's Conference League final and miss out on a top-five finish, Brighton would play in next season's Conference League. Admittedly, they're hoping for a lot to happen there, but they need only a point here to secure 8th place, so they can at least be confident about doing their part.
It's been a solid campaign for Brighton under Fabian Hurzeler, even if some Brighton fans have (questionably) become disgruntled at times. Brighton have spent a significant amount of money in recent seasons and while they've often finished high up in the Premier League, their fans will be looking around at clubs like Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Tottenham winning trophies and feel a real sense of envy, and in the case of Palace, jealousy.
Having spent about £200m in the summer, defeats in the League Cup (while fielding a weakened team) and losses to the likes of Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup will have to be seen as points for improvement next season. There is ample evidence from this season of just how much joy a League Cup or an FA Cup trophy can bring to a fanbase, and it extends far, far beyond a top six or seven finish. After a good campaign this time around, Brighton need to go all out in pursuit of what Newcastle and Crystal Palace achieved this season.