Zeki Fryers

Zeki Fryers had to pull out of the England Under 21 squad after earning his place with two consecutive displays at left-back for Spurs.

The 21 year-old had to be given a talking to last season by Sherwood to amend his attitude and that chat seems to have helped Fryers develop. You may recall there was a chance he could go on loan to a Championship side in February to get some game time but Tim Sherwood blocked any move.

He has been rewarded since, standing in for the injured Danny Rose, with Kyle Naughton having to play at right-back. He had the opportunity to experience a pulsating cup evening at White Hart Lane in the Europa League as a result.

Zeki Fryers against Dnipro
Zeki Fryers enjoyed the atmosphere against Dnipro

It was one of those nights, a typical Spurs night, when we did things the hard way. Already 1-0 down from the first leg, then another goal down at home, a 13 minute burst of 3 goals transformed the tie and sent Spurs through to the last 16 of the Europa League where they meet Benfica.

“It was an amazing experience. We just kept pushing and pushing, and eventually we got the result.

“For me, being a young lad and having not played that many games, that was probably the most exciting game I’ve played in.

“To go another goal down and then come back, that was unbelievable. Everyone was buzzing in the changing room afterwards.

“This is a club that should be getting into the latter stages of cup competitions. I think it’s time, and the fans have been patient as well.

“If they can keep getting behind us and helping us as well then that’s a massive help. That was a huge factor last week, we all felt the buzz of the fans and it helped.”

Looking forward to Benfica in the next round he said to the Tottenham & Wood Green Journal:

“They’re a big team but so are we, and if we do the right things and do the right job then it will be another exciting game.

“I think it’s an advantage playing the first leg at home, but anything can happen so all the lads are looking forward to it.”

With Danny Rose reportedly out for another 3 games he may get further opportunities and does not regret quitting Manchester United.

"A lot of people say that when you leave Man United you go down but for me, I feel like I have gone up, in terms of my development."

He left Manchester United, for whom he couldn't agree terms, for Standard Liege but joined Spurs just 4 months later. United had wanted a crazy £6m compensation yet sold him for £1m!

"There were always going to be accusations, obviously. I wanted a new adventure, really. There were certain things there that didn't fall my way. And I thought it was time to move on. I felt that I wanted to be more regularly involved around the first team.

"I wanted to go abroad to further my career. Most foreign players come to England to play, but it's rare that English people go abroad to play. So I thought I was going to go and try something new. I enjoyed it, it was a great experience.

"Come January [2013], there were a few options. Spurs was the best for my improvement and development because of the staff there, such as Tim Sherwood, Chris Ramsey and Les Ferdinand. They are great coaches, they did a lot of work with me.

"They helped me improve my game. They helped me get forward more, introducing something new to my game, becoming more of a modern full-back. Tim chats to you individually, he's honest, and honesty is the main thing you need."

He said after his first Premier League start against Stoke City, "It's a great feeling, if I can get opportunities and play well then anything can happen."

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His full match day involvement for Tottenham so far this season is below.

22 Aug Qualifying Round 1st Leg Dinamo Tbilisi vs Spurs WON 5-0 he was on the bench.
DEBUT 29 Aug Qualifying Round 2nd Leg Spurs vs Dinamo Tbilisi WON 3-0 he came on in the 57th minute and played 34 minutes.
22 Sept Premier League Cardiff vs Spurs WON 1-0 he was on the bench.
24 Sept League Cup 3rd Round Aston Villa vs Spurs WON 4-0 he played the 90 minutes.
02 Oct Group K Anzhi vs Spurs WON 2-0 he played the full 90 minutes.
24 Oct Group K Sheriff vs Spurs WON 2-0 he had to come off after 34 minutes with an injury.
28 Nov Group K Tromso vs Spurs WON 2-0 he played for 71 minutes before being substituted.
07 Dec Premier League Sunderland vs Spurs WON 2-1 he was on the bench.
12 Dec Group K Spurs vs Anzhi WON 4-1 he played at centre-back for the full 90 minutes.
15 Dec Premier League Spurs vs Liverpool Lost 5-0 he came on after 46 minutes and played for 45 minutes.
18 Dec League Cup Quarter-Final Spurs vs West Ham Lost 2-1 he came on after 62 minutes and played the remaining 29 minutes.
29 Dec Premier League Spurs vs Stoke City WON 3-0 he played the full 90 minutes.
01 Jan Premier League Manchester United vs Spurs WON 2-1 he was on the bench.
04 Jan FA Cup 3rd Round Arsenal vs Spurs Lost 2-0 he was on the bench.
11 Jan Premier League Spurs vs Crystal Palace WON 2-0 he was on the bench.
20 Feb 2nd Round 1st Leg Dnipro vs Spurs Lost 1-0 he was on the bench.
23 Feb Premier League Norwich City vs Spurs Lost 1-0 he was on the bench.
27 Feb 2nd Round 2nd Leg Spurs vs Dnipro WON 3-1 he played the 90 minutes and played the ball in for Adebayor to score the third goal, giving him an assist to his name.
02 Mar Premier League Spurs vs Cardiff City WON 1-0 he played for the whole 90 minutes.

That breaks down as two and a half games in the Premier League.
One game and 29 minutes in the League Cup.
Three full games, one of 70 mins, one of 34 mins and one of 33 minutes in the Europa League.

In addition Zeki Fryers has been playing for the Tottenham Development Squad in the Under 21 Premier League.

19 Aug Spurs vs Manchester City WON 6-3 he played at centre-back for the full 90 minutes.
23 Aug West Ham vs Spurs WON 3-2 he played at centre-back for 63 minutes before being substituted.
16 Sept Aston Villa vs Spurs DREW 1-1 he played for the full 90 minutes.
21 Oct Spurs vs Leicester City DREW 1-1 he played for 70 minutes before being substituted.
03 Feb Spurs vs Everton DREW 0-0 he played for 45 minutes before being substituted.
17 Feb Spurs vs Bolton Wanderers Lost 5-2 he played at centre-back for the full 90 minutes (Spurs went down to 10 men in this game).