Tottenham shed 'Spursy' stigma, says Gareth Bale as Wales icon quips beaten UEFA Europa League finalists Manchester United now have 'Unitedy' tag

Tottenham Hotspur ended their 17-year wait for a major trophy by picking up the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League. The club were quick to ironically use the usually-derogatory adjective 'Spursy' in their full-time social media post. But Gareth Bale believes a similar tag is needed for beaten finalists Manchester United, who need to give Ruben Amorim "more time", according to Rio Ferdinand.

Gareth Bale was in a playful mood after watching his former club Tottenham Hotspur defeat Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday.

The former Wales international saw compatriot Brennan Johnson score a first-half winner in a 1-0 win, as the north London club clinched their first European title for 41 years.

United left San Mames stadium in Bilbao deflated, with Luke Shaw questioning whether he and his team-mates were up to the level of the club.

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And Bale was quick to turn the usual taunt of 'Spursy' onto Tottenham's opponents, with United now without any form of European football next season.

"Unitedy," quipped Bale after Spurs' full-time social media post captioned 'Spursy' was shown.

"It could be a Unitedy thing now, I'm telling you," continued Bale. "But it gets rid of that stigma now for sure and hopefully we can build on it."

Ruben Amorim will hope to build on what has turned out to be a "disaster" of a season for Manchester United, as Rio Ferdinand backed the Portuguese manager to lead the club forwards.

"I think he needs to be afforded a window," said Ferdinand. "I think you can't invest in a manager and not give him the ability to shuffle the pack and get some players in that fit the profile of players that he requires to implement his philosophy.

"I think he needs more time. He hasn't had a pre-season, he hasn't had time on the training pitch to coach these players as much as he would like, I'm sure.

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"Listen, there's no doubt, and I think he said it himself, it's been a terrible season. It's been a disaster of a season domestically. And now not winning this after putting all your eggs in this basket, this is a disaster as well in that sense.

"So rather than be emotional about it, like there will be a lot of people out there that are and they're entitled to that, but in the cold light of day, I think he needs some time."

Amorim vows ‘I won’t quit, I won’t go away’ after Europa League final loss

Video credit: TNT Sports

And Glenn Hoddle concurred with his fellow TNT Sports expert, adding that the pressure would start to mount if United started poorly next term.

"I agree with Rio," said Hoddle. "I think he will be under pressure if he doesn't start well next year. The first 10 games are vital for United next year.

"He didn't really want to come when he wanted to come. He wanted to come at the end of the season, but they said no, it's got to be now."

"So he hasn't had any players that he really feels are his and he hasn't had the time to bed down the system. They've never played three at the back, United, over many, many years.

"Now he has to look at himself, maybe in the summer, to say, 'In the Premier League, can I make this work?

"At the moment, apart from Fernandes, I think they've got a bunch of really good players, nothing world class, nothing special that particularly this club, Manchester United, have always had in their squad."

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