I was amazed at how negative people were before kick off. In the last 2 seasons, only in the last game of the season have we lost by more than one goal. I think we've lost 8 out of 58 PL games. Only 3 at home - Newcastle, Leicester and Southampton. None of those were games we should have lost. In that time, I can't think of more than 3 or 4 where we haven't turned up and given it some and deserved something out of the game and none of those were at home. Given we had all of our best players, bar Lamela, fit and most in top form on the back of 4 straight PL wins, I was pretty optimistic. This is a good team. It can become a great team. I hope that the lessons of last season and what happened after beating Citeh, earlier this season, have sunk in with the players. When you're winning and things are on the up, that's when you do more, try harder, make signings and show more ambition. I want us to be going all out for Isco and Bruma. Also, no talk about titles or any of that ****. It's heads down and mouths shut until we win something, then it's time to talk and not before. We need to believe in this team and this manager. We can do this.
Did you hear Roberts tell Paul Coyte of how he signed for Spurs ? He said how we had a game called off and a bloke saw Bill Nick at the railway station and said get down to Weymouth, there's a kid down there worth watching. Bill took the guys advice, went to Weymouth and signed Roberts. I thought it was Keith Burkinshaw who signed Roberts ??
Delighted ? I was doing cartwheels all the way down the High Road after the game. I think that is what is known as a "bloody good night out". Brilliant stuff, a thoroughly deserved 3 points and the scoreline is a fair reflection of how better we were than Chelsea on the night. A while back I was convinced Pochettino had ran out of ideas and any plan B happened by accident rather than tactical knowhow. Clearly I was wrong. And I just can't get the Dele Alli song out of my head today.
I am sure that he's still learning. He had 2 previous job with Southampton and Espanyol where, at the end of the season, his best players were flogged off. There were major changes made for last season - Dier as a midfielder, Dele Alli, Toby Aldeweireld, Mousa as a deep-lying midfielder, pretty much all the team was remodelled. This season is the first time that he will have started from a settled base and had an opportunity to think beyond the first XI and from game to game. We've seen 3-4-3 and 4-1-4-1. As always, it comes down to the players. We've got increasing numbers of clever players. That makes it all possible.
I think Spurs record as the best performing team in the PL since the start of the last season is down to some exceptional business in the transfer market. After by and large wasting the Bale money, funds have been very well spent since. In particular, Alderweireld (why wasn't there a bidding wa among Europe's top clubsr for this player??) and Alli. The latter looked a player in League One, but there's no guarantee, of course, that he could have the same effect at PL level. It was well worth a punt at £5M. He's worth ten times that now. Wanyama was a good signing too - strangely not on the radar of other top four contenders either.
Also, Eric Dier. He's a very versatile and intelligent footballer. His ability to play in a few positions and be combative and distribute the ball well means we cover for having a smaller group of players than our competitors. Again he wasn't unknown but nobody else had the vision to go and get him. Top player now though.
Agreed, Luke. Alderweireld is probably the best CB in the Prem right now. Wanayama is one of the best DM's too. Alli is...well, just Alli...a phenomenon....and still only 20!..
Poch knew how good Alderweireld and Wanyama were having managed them before and they knew Poch as a manager, it would have been difficult for other clubs to sign them if Poch wanted them. A manager needs a player to believe in him and want to play for his side. I'm working where I am today because I'd worked for the same CEO in the past. Albeit a different company. As for younger players, they know that at Tottenham, they are going to get a chance in the first team pretty soon if they show willing and commitment in training. Most want a chance to play. If they just wanted more money and a good seat to watch matches, then they could go to Manchester (both flavours) or Chavski, where you get a free holiday in Belgium after 3 seasons of shivering in the stands. Then of course there is Loserpool. You have to be a certain type to want to live and play in Mouseland, so the brighter ones are not going to want to go there. You could be playing really well and then the Septic owners and whoever the new manager is that season decides to spash 100 squillian on some Carlos Kickaball chap and you get relegated to the bench or even the reserves. At Tottenham, you can bet your bottom dollar that Levy is not going to open his wallet and break the world transfer record just because Spurs are not in their 'rightful position'. You've also got to live in Mouseland, which means it will be difficult for them to sign anybody who actually knows the area. How would you like to go to work and everyday, in the back of your mind, you think someone is robbing/planning to rob your house? Slippy G probably got robbed more times than all the Building Societys in the UK combined, and that was by his own fans!!! Then there is always l'arse, but very few are that stupid.
Agreed - our transfer business is astonishingly good - the starting team that beat Chelsea on Wednesday cost under £100m or to put it another way about one Bale.
We bought the whole team for the same or less than Man City: Scales plus Sterling Man Utd: Pogba Liverpool: Wijnaldum plus Mane plus Firmino Chelsea: Batshuayi plus Luis plus Alonso Arsenal: Xhaka plus Mustafi plus Perez
Of course we've made some mistakes too (we got quite a lot back for Soldado and Paulinho and the other three might well prove to be good buys), but I'd like to see a plausible team from any other club in the top 6 that costs less than £100m and would give us a game.....