Spurs are missing a trick

When I wrote the Beckham franchise offers opportunity to Spurs article back in July I didn't realise that Tottenham U18's were going to Florida for a tournament but I'm delighted they are.



The article talked about America being an important market, a growing market, which quite frankly is virtually untouched. The potential for growth is enormous and being in at the start of a growth surge is vital to establish a large popularity base. As the market grows, teams popularity will grow in relation to their base market so now is the time to be out there promoting the club, in addition to pre-season tours.

Tottenham have more fan clubs in America than any other Premier League team and more fans watched the Spurs game this summer than the Arsenal game that took place at the same time, considerably more, thus we do have something to build upon. In an NBC poll we came out as the most popular team in America so this is no time to rest on our laurels.

We have Brad Friedel in our ranks, soon DeAndre Yedlin will arrive and as a USA star of the future, we have a powerful marketing asset. US fans like to see one of their own and that can only increase viewers when he plays for us. Coming through the ranks is Cameron Carter-Vickers who represents the USA at U18 level so we have connections to build upon.

The Beckham article went on to suggest we should be looking to arrange a partnership with his franchise, have matches between the two and have a loan player agreement. I went further to suggest that our Development Squad should go on regular US tours culminating in a game against a US U21 side as a way to continue to market the club out there.

Right now we have Tottenham U18's on a US tour and they have just played US U17's in a game that was abandoned when they were losing 1-0. A brawl was not what I had in mind to grab attention!

The game was part of the IMG tournament taking place in Florida which has play-offs and a final to complete it.

Our results have been;
Spurs U18 6 Baltimore Celtic 1
Spurs U 18 2 Toluca FC 0
Spurs U18 0 USA U17 1

IMG Tournament Table

Spurs U18 - P3 W2 D0 L1 F8 A2 GD+6 PTS 6
Toluca FC - P2 W2 D0 L1 F5 A2 GD+3 PTS 6
USA U17 - P3 W1 D1 L1 F4 A4 GD +0 PTS 4
Baltimore Celtic - P3 W0 D1 L2 R4 A 13 GD-9 PTS 1

These tournaments are set in one place and develop the youth where I'd like to see an older group travelling, the players just below the first-team squad. They would play decent opposition and with one or two older players, including Brad Friedel, using it also as a marketing exercise.

We have coaching programmes in America and once again we could arrange local coaching for the areas youth surrounding each game, just as we did for the senior squad. The clubs or clubs that steal a march by looking ahead and planning for the future are the one or ones who are going to benefit and profit from it in the long run. Standing still is not an option in business and neither is trying to play catch up.

Another option is to have seniors games surrounding them as well. Playing in aid of a local charity, just as they do here, it adds to the marketing potential of such a trip and shows Spurs as caring about American football and local communities.

Informal signing session as part of coaching sessions they could assist our coaches in that are open to the public. There ought to be a mobile shop or a tie up with a local store so that there is merchandise available with orders can also able to be placed online.

If we want to be innovative and go further then why not have an ex player, used to formal speaking, give a talk to local businessmen, about the winning mentality in sport and how it can be imparted to staff to boost their companies success.

Then it's down to the PR department at the club to get their finger out and get maximum exposure for the goodwill tour. You'd want the local TV and media involved and talk with NBC about a programme surrounding the tour and how Tottenham are taking America seriously, together with updates and features throughout the tour.

Using the Development squad, retired players, ambassadors, coaches, it's not adding to the burden of for the senior squad and keeps Tottenham's name high profile. It fits in with the club brand of flair, style and adventure and shows us to be a club that makes things happen, as opposed to simply following in others footsteps. We have a long history of being the first, from the first amateur side to win the FA Cup to the first British team to win a major European trophy. We were innovators with Ardiles and Villa so it's a tradition we should look to continue.

I really do think we are missing a trick because once the opportunity to tap into the US market has gone, then it's gone for good, then it's catch up marketing.