THE VITALS:

Team: Tottenham Hotspur

Brand: Puma

Era: 2010-11 (Used for the 2010-11 Barclays Premier League season)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

I would have described the shirt as being in excellent condition however the sponsor has sadly faded away. With that being said however, the material and the crest are in nothing short of Immaculate condition.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Medium

Pit to Pit Measurement: 21.5 inches

Shirt Length: 29 inches 

Although made in Puma's mould that they introduced ahead of the 2010-11 season; like the previous season's iteration, this shirt may be better suited for the size above (large in this instance) as per the dimensions. 

DESCRIPTION:

In Puma's fourth season producing Tottenham Hotspur’s home shirt, they once again produced a very unique design which was distinguishable from its predecessors! Unlike the previous season shirt which featured yellow streaks, this shirt returned to a strictly white and Navy ensemble. Puma would integrate their 2010-11 season design masterfully with the standout feature being the Puma Crest asymmetrically placed towards the upper right shoulder of the shirt. Another feature of Puma’s shirts that season were the subtle designs embedded into the background of the shirt and this was no different with a unique crosshatching design subtly imbued. This would also be the first season in which Tottenham bared the Autonomy and Investec sponsorships on their shirt; replacing Mansion Poker who was previously their sponsor. This shirt will no doubt be remembered by fans of the club for their maiden foray in the UEFA Champions League where they defeated the reigning champions Inter Milan and eliminated AC Milan on route to a memorable quarter final finish.  

THE SEASON:

After the disappointments of the 2005-06 and 2006-07 season, Tottenham Hotspur would finally secure that elusive 4^th spot at the end of 2009-10 and with it came the holy grail of Champions League football! An excellent transfer window saw Sandro and William Gallas join the club, but no doubt the star signing was Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid on Transfer Deadline Day for just £8 million! Prior to his signing however, Tottenham had to navigate a Champions League 3^rd Round Play-Off against Young Boys Bern of Switzerland as well as the Premier League season curtain raiser against Manchester City; the side they pipped to 4^th place last season!

They welcomed the big spending ‘Cityzens’ to White Hart Lane on August 14^th where a goalless draw played out. 3 days later, they would be beaten 3-2 away to Young Boys, however, with 2 away goals in the bag; Harry Redknapp’s side fancied themselves to overturn the deficit on August 25^th. A Gareth Bale brace would see off Stoke City 2-1 in the league, and then they would take their place in Champions League Group Stage draw following a 4-0 hammering of Young Boys that saw Peter Crouch score a hat-trick! Spurs would be joined in Group A by FC Twente, Werder Bremen and the reigning European and Italian Champions Inter Milan! The month however would end with a 1-0 defeat at home to Wigan Athletic.

September began with a 1-1 draw with newly promoted West Bromwich Albion, to set set the stage for history being made, as Spurs played their first ever game in the UEFA Champions League proper! They and Werder Bremen would contest a thrilling 2-2 draw on September 14^th in Germany. Wolverhampton Wanderers were put to the sword in a 3-1 victory for the hosts at White Hart Lane where Van Der Vaart opened his account for his new club. There would then be disappointment in the League Cup as they were beaten 4-1 by Arsenal at home, before a 1-0 defeat to West Ham. Back in the UCL, they would be masterful as they put 4 goals past FC Twente at White Hart Lane in a fine 4-1 win on September 29^th!

Spurs would back-to-back league games for the first time this season as they beat Aston Villa and Fulham in succession, up next however, was the dream visit to the San Siro to take on Internazionale! Reduced to 10 men, this was a nightmare in the making as Spurs found themselves 4-0 down at half-time! The 2^nd half however, would yield one of the competitions most legendary 1-man tour de force’s as Gareth Bale introduced himself to the world stage with an electrifying 2^nd half hat-trick that earnt admirers everywhere. The game would end 4-3 in to Inter, but it was one of those rare occasions where the losing side came out of the game feeling like the victors.

Good will aside, the game signalled a run of 4 league games without victory, although, in the reverse fixture with Inter, they swatted Rafa Benitez’ side 3-1 at home as progression to the Last 16 was looking more imminent. November 13^th signalled the first of 3 respective 3-match winning streaks in the league as they defeated Blackburn Rovers 4-2 at home. They would avenge their League Cup exit against Arsenal by beating ‘The Gunners’ 3-2 at The Emirates Stadium in the November 20^th North London Derby! Not only did Spurs come back from 2-0 down to secure the win, this would also be their first ever win at The Emirates, and a first away win over their arch-rivals since 1993! This fine month would end with defeating Werder Bremen 3-0 at home, and then beating Liverpool 2-1 at home on November 28^th!

December 7^th’s spectacular 3-3 draw with FC Twente ensured that Spurs topped their group in an impressive debut showing in the Champions League, and they would be making a return to the San Siro in 2011 as AC Milan were their Last 16 opponents! December would yield draws with Birmingham City and Chelsea either side of the Twente game, however, they would extend their unbeaten run in the league to 8 games with wins over Aston Villa and Newcastle United to finish off a memorable year of 2010.

South African duo: Bongani Khumalo and Steven Pienaar joined the club in January, meanwhile, Robbie Keane, David Bentley, Giovani dos Santos, Kyle Walker and Jamie O’Hara all left the club on loan in the Transfer Window. New Years Day 2011 would yield a 1-0 win over Fulham, it would be a frustrating month then on they failed to win against either Everton, Manchester United or Newcastle, and were later dumped out of the FA Cup by Fulham.

A crucial February got Spurs back on the winning path as they beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0 and then saw off Bolton and Sunderland ahead of their visit to the San Siro to meet AC Milan in the 1^st Leg of their Last 16 Champions League clash. Peter Crouch would send the visiting fans into euphoria as his goal earnt Spurs a historic 1-0 win, and more importantly, meant Milan would need to score twice if they were to win the tie without penalties on March 9^th.

The team’s inconsistency would rear its ugly head once more as they failed to win in either of their next 5 games. Luckily, one of those games was the home tie versus Milan which ended 0-0, and as a result Tottenham would earn themselves the right to square off with Real Madrid in the quarter final of the competition!

A classic case of a European hangover would be the tale of the 2011 portion of the season in the league Spurs mustered just 3 victories in the league after their February 12^th win over Sunderland. This was the farthest from ideal in terms of preparation as they descended upon the Santiago Bernabeu on April 4^th to meet a fiercely in-form Real Madrid side. Spurs would be shown first-hand, as to why Jose Mourinho’s side were battling tooth and nail with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, as Real inflicted a 4-0 beating in the 1^st Leg to the visitors.

Returning back to England, Spurs would claim a first league win since February as they beat Stoke City 3-2 on April 9^th. Formalities would be complete against Real Madrid, as Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal at White Hart Lane saw Spurs crash out of the competition. They would now have get their act together in the league if they were to rub shoulders with Europe’s elite next season, and there was no greater motivation then derailing Arsenal’s title charge in the impending NLD on April 20^th.

A thrilling 3-3 draw would play out at White Hart Lane, before dropping more points at home to West Brom. A 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on April 30^th all but spelled the end of any hopes of returning to the Champions League next season. To add insult to injury, Manchester City would defeat Spurs 1-0 on May 10^th; a year and 5 days after Spurs’ 1-0 win at The Etihad Arena secured 4^th place for them in 2010. With 2 games of the season to play, Spurs could still finish in 5^th, and they met 5^th place Liverpool on May 14^th and came away from Anfield with a brilliant 2-0 win to move a point clear of them ahead of the final day of the season. Spurs would cement a 5^th place finish by defeating Birmingham City 2-1 at home, and in the process, relegating their opponents with Roman Pavlyuchenko’s 93^rd minute winner!

The notable players that season were:

Roman Pavlyuchenko, Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe, Gareth Bale, Giovani dos Santos, Steven Pienaar, Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart, Niko Kranjcar, Aaron Lennon, Jake Livermore, Jermaine Jenas, Sandro, Wilson Palacios, Tom Huddlestone, William Gallas, Younes Kaboul, Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Sébastien Bassong, Danny Rose, Vedran Ćorluka, Kyle Walker, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Carlo Cudicini, Heurelho Gomes