Yedlin, Tottenham & the Premier League's US charm offensive

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An enlightening article by Goal.com interviewing Spurs' executive director: Donna Cullen, which talks about our (2014) pre-season strategy and our influence on the U.S. soil.

SPECIAL REPORT
By Ewan Roberts

In the 1960s it was Beatlemania. Now another British import is sweeping the United States. For so long football – or soccer, as the natives call it – was belittled on the other side of the Atlantic but now they are starting to take it seriously. And, in turn, Premier League clubs are taking notice.

“I don’t think it will drop off quite as it usually does after a World Cup, I think the level of interest is actually going to grow,” Tottenham executive director Donna Cullen told Goal. “Certainly the numbers on ESPN who watched our match against Chicago indicate that.”

An enormous 383,000 people tuned in to watch the final leg of Spurs’ US tour and the club are very much at the forefront of the Premier League invasion.

On Wednesday, fresh on the heels of having travelled from the west coast to the east to take on Seattle Sounders, Toronto FC and Chicago, Spurs announced the formation of a Florida-based youth team now known as Tallahassee Tottenham Hotspur as well as the signing of next-big-thing DeAndre Yedlin – now the most expensive homegrown player.

For Tottenham, at least, there’s much more to their relationship with the United States than any sort of faceless, money-spinning gimmicks at which the cynics might hint, with an enormous emphasis on engaging with a pre-existing fanbase, who wouldn’t normally have the chance to see their side play, and helping develop the sport.

“After we had the invitation to be part of the [International Champions Cup] tournament, we opted to actually do our own thing and play MLS teams because, for us, it was all about fan growth and engagement,” says Cullen.

“If you were a Seattle Sounders fan and you were looking for an English Premier League team to support, having us go and visit and play and engage was a really good opportunity for us to grow fans on the existing soccer fans in the US. That’s why we did the three teams and all MLS teams.

“When you design your own tour you can then build in all of the extra activities, which we’re always keen to do.

“And then we take both our global coaching and our foundation out there, so we do grassroots football coaching and the charitable foundation engages as well, and then we look to leave an ongoing partnership somewhere related to that club and that area.”

Tottenham’s appeal – and it is vast; according to a recent poll by NBC, they are the most supported Premier League side in North America – is built not on merely showing their face in an exhibition match but on the impression they leave behind. “They’ve seen that we don’t just go in and then leave. We’ve actually put roots down in various areas.”

It is, ultimately, a more open battleground than, for example, the Asian markets - not that Tottenham have any plans to give up on those territories. "Asia very much will adopt teams that are the successful teams of the moment," says Cullen, but the situation is different in the more receptive States. "[We've] always had a strong fanbase there there’s a lot of word of mouth that goes on and American fans that like soccer will look to pick their English Premier League team, and hopefully we’ve demonstrated a good position in rationale to be that team of choice."

They have benefitted, too, from both the exciting style of football that the club are historically known to play and having a core of well-known ex-Spurs players plying their trade in MLS. “It raises our profile. We’ve got three players in the top 10 for jersey sales - Robbie Keane, Clint Dempsey and Jermain Defoe - so we’re always well represented out there ... having seen them play with us, and then having them in MLS, you have that natural synergy.”

Yedlin’s arrival raises that profile further but, while American players provide a “connection point”, arguably what the right-back signifies more than any kind of marketability boost is how rapidly the appeal of football is growing in the States, particularly to youngsters, and there should be little fear that he is another Bongani Khumalo or Kazuyuki Toda.

Despite more kids playing football than any other sport, the vast majority of the country’s best young athletes are drawn to the holy trinity of US sports: baseball, basketball and American football.

Yedlin, though, is an exception to that rule and one of the first premier athletes to choose football over other sports. He reportedly ran the 40-yard dash in 4.2 seconds – the current combine record is held by Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, who went 4.24 in 2008. That Yedlin is soon to be playing in the Premier League, rather than the NFL, marks an important shift.

“He's a great signing based purely on his footballing ability and what he can bring to Spurs and our style of play,” concludes Cullen.

“There is no doubt that he will become a focus for US audiences - even more importantly, he has shown how it is possible to come through the ranks at an MLS team and make it to the top of the game, having been a product of Sounders' academy.”

There is an increasingly false impression that the Premier League’s expanding relationship with the United States is just a tactic to milk an enormous American audience but Tottenham’s association with the US is very much benefiting both sides. The club have made a conscious effort to help develop the game from grassroots up and in many ways Yedlin’s arrival, far from a PR exercise, brings that work full circle, not just helping coach American youngsters but putting their faith in them too.
Yedlin, Tottenham & the Premier League's US charm-offensive - Goal.com
 
40 yard dash in 4.2 seconds? Kin 'ell that's quick. Interesting article with no great surprises in terms of global marketing but that stat...can't wait to see him blazing up & down the right. He will scare the shit out of teams.
 
I had no idea he was THAT fast! People have been saying for years that once athletes that could easily compete in any other US sport decide to start playing soccer we'll really come into our own on the international level.

Also, can someone please link this NBC poll that everyone is talking about? I've seen it mentioned now countless times, but I've never actually seen it. There is absolutely no way we're the most popular team in the United States. It must take a ton of different stuff into account. Maybe we're the most popular team with fans that actually follow the sport closely? Not sure.
 
I had no idea he was THAT fast! People have been saying for years that once athletes that could easily compete in any other US sport decide to start playing soccer we'll really come into our own on the international level.

Also, can someone please link this NBC poll that everyone is talking about? I've seen it mentioned now countless times, but I've never actually seen it. There is absolutely no way we're the most popular team in the United States. It must take a ton of different stuff into account. Maybe we're the most popular team with fans that actually follow the sport closely? Not sure.

That poll was done right after all the "Ted Lasso" marketing and Bale over Times Square stuff was done. Not sure why, but NBC essentially chose Spurs as the flagship club of their EPL marketing campaign last summer. So they used us the central club of their marketing scheme, and then had a poll on favored club in the EPL among the demographic who were paying attention... You see where the problem lies.
 
Yeah, fair point, but it's just a party trick unless he can convert that very impressive speed into a match situation, with a ball.

Absolutely true. This same category is heavily used in gridiron in recruiting and player analysis, especially in regard to wide receivers. Sure that's great you're fast as fuck, but it means absolute jack if you can't run the routes correctly and know when to look back at your quarterback.
 
Yeah, fair point, but it's just a party trick unless he can convert that very impressive speed into a match situation, with a ball.
The other stats on there suggest there's more to him than just blinding pace. His contribution to matches looks very impressive. & he was impressive in the WC. I can't wait to see if he can replicate that kind of form for us.
 
Yeah, fair point, but it's just a party trick unless he can convert that very impressive speed into a match situation, with a ball.

A defender tracking back with a pace of 4.2 sounds like a match situation to me. Sure, it's not the same speed going forward, but no matter how you look at it being that fast IS useful.
 
The other stats on there suggest there's more to him than just blinding pace. His contribution to matches looks very impressive. & he was impressive in the WC. I can't wait to see if he can replicate that kind of form for us.
Oh please don't get me wrong on this, I don't go in for knocking our players (except one in an unfortunate situation) and I agree - my point was football needs to be done well, not just quickly. I'm delighted with his signing.
 
I'm probably totally out of touch and a proper dinosaur.

Whilst it's great that we've got supporters in the US and I welcome them wholeheartedly, THFC to me is firstly about place, belonging and a sense of identity.

If we think of football in Britain as a "brand" I suggest that these factors give it a unique selling point.

The article says that Tottenham is "putting roots down" in America. This is laughable. We've got young people in Tottenham who can't afford to get to the matches and therefore don't build that sense of connection and identity with their local club.

How about putting some roots down properly in the local community of this iconic city. If people around the world connect with that, brilliant.
 
I'm probably totally out of touch and a proper dinosaur.

Whilst it's great that we've got supporters in the US and I welcome them wholeheartedly, THFC to me is firstly about place, belonging and a sense of identity.

If we think of football in Britain as a "brand" I suggest that these factors give it a unique selling point.

The article says that Tottenham is "putting roots down" in America. This is laughable. We've got young people in Tottenham who can't afford to get to the matches and therefore don't build that sense of connection and identity with their local club.

How about putting some roots down properly in the local community of this iconic city. If people around the world connect with that, brilliant.

As an American, I feel I should mention that I absolutely agree with you here. It's my hope that with this spread of roots here Stateside, it can lead to more funds headed to the club, from which they could have a higher number of funds within the fraction of the budget to divert to the Haringey project, which would then lead to going back into the community.

While I do like to see these clubs expanding to becoming global, I do think it's very important that they prioritize the community that has built them into a position to allow them to even reach other nations in the first place.
 
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