2016-17 season compass

Spurs will finish no lower than 3rd in the PL this season.
Similarly qualification for the CL group stages for 2017-18.

Are we happy with that ??

 

The only people who shouldn't be happy are the few who thought Spurs would do even better, I think, including a number of people on this board. The pundits ought to be praising us to the skies for far outdoing their expectations.

If you would have offered me third and above Arsenal when the year started, I wouldn't have taken it on principal. It would not have been daring. Now that we are finishing at least third and above Arsenal, I have to say I'm very pleased. Add in that we've smashed our points record, and it gets better.

We still haven't won a trophy. It's a big miss, no doubt. But for the past two years, if if we haven't had the biggest reasons to cheer, we have had reason to cheer most often. And yet perhaps we have had the biggest reason to cheer after all. For the second year on the trot, Spurs have played the best football. It's a remarkable achievement for the club with the sixth biggest budget, and one Spurs fans, of all fans, ought to appreciate most. IMO.

 

rwaeb, I officially declare that your first review of the BBC pundits 2016-17
PL predictions can now begin (at least 22 of 33 people are in for some grief
are they not ... ) .

 

1 point from 9 to all but seal 2nd place (barring a huge swing in GD from City).
I will personally be a tad peeved if we drop the ball again and stagger across the finishing line below City. It will, like last season, put an unwanted tarnish on an otherwise superb campaign.

WHL deserves a royal send off, we have the opportunity to go unbeaten at home all season and to humiliate The Special Once. If that isn't motivation enough to win convincingly on Sunday, I don't know what is.

Win that match, hit 80 points and then sit back, relax and reflect on a job well done as far as I'm concerned.

I wouldn't even mind losing 5-1 to Hull if meant keeping Daws, Hudd and Mason in the PL

 

Yes, that is the next micro target for the rest of the season.


"I wouldn't even mind losing 5-1 to Hull if meant keeping Daws, Hudd and Mason in the PL."

I can only tolerate a loss that means the final GA for Spurs is 29 or less. < micro target >

 

I'd have been pretty happy with that at the start of the season, but I've not mixed feelings now.
We've generally had a very good season and grown from last season, but there's a few sticking points.
No trophies, a poor display in Europe, some strange team selections at key points and a fairly poor record against the best sides.

We're far better than our finances should allow us to be, but we really need some silverware to reach the next level.
The summer transfer window will be a massive test, both in terms of signings and holding onto what we've got.

 

The FA Cup semi final and the game against West Ham. Two pivotal moments and two disasters. That's where I am stuck.

Just feels as though all the good work gets thrown away in every single boom or bust scenario. This team is not ageless, next season we are at Wembley and I fear that next season ending trophy less will be a season too much for a few of the players. Our net spend is Fantastic but we are going to have to break a few house rules or we won't get anywhere. Pay them what they want and go all out for a game changer.

It's fine saying we have had a fantastic season....but to me it feels like small crumbs of comfort considering how close we are to the next step. I only say we need a marquee signing because there is no one in our squad who can take the bull by the horns in these pivotal moments. Second season, same problem. The next step is not a miracle away...it's the right in game management away and some belief...but second season, same trip ups.

Record breaking season for many number crunching reasons and that can't be scoffed at...ill be more optimistic depending on how we behave in our last 3 games.

 

Was anyone else genuinely surprised by the lack of headlines this morning saying that we bottled Europa League qualification?

 

Does the 3rd place qualifying for Group stages change if Utd win the EL? Does this get them into qualifying or Group stages and, if the latter, would it take a qualified place from England?

 

We are safe.

 

If Utd were to win the Europa League and not qualify for the Champions League via their league placing, then they get an additional place.
This would be in the play-off round or the group stage, depending on the Champions League winners.
If that team also qualify via their league position, then the Europa League winners go into the group. If not, then it's the play-off.

 

From a purely biased Tottenham perspective I don't want united to win the Europa, and I want Liverpool not Utd or Arsenal to come 4th as both Utd and the goons are above us in the champions league rankings, we are currently 20th so in order to be in 2nd group of seeds we require a number of sides above us to not qualify. As it stands Schalke and Leverkusen won't qualify, but Monaco who are behind us are likely to be in 1st group of seeds as Champions of France so both MU and goons missing out would be good.

 

So to stop Utd going into the Group stages, it would need Real to come 5th or Juve to come 4th in their league. welcome to the Group stages Man Utd (if they win EL)

 

Either way we are. Only need a point (2 mathematically) to get 2nd anyway. Surely we'll get that. Surely.....we will won't we.

 

I was thinking the same thing - especially as one of City, Liverpool or Arsenal would lose out

 

One thing that does seem to haunt us time and again is how, when Poch adjusts his tactics to suit the opposition, more often than not it doesn't come off.

Case in point, in his first season as manager we played City and he adjusted the lineup to one that could deal with Dzeko, assuming that he'd be starting the game - a plan which was fine in principle, but undone by the fact that Dzeko didn't start but Aguero did, and we found ourselves unsuited to dealing with him and were promptly gubbed. If we decided to stick instead of twist the result could easily have been less of a trainwreck.

Similar can be said for the FA Cup semi: starting Trippier to take advantage of Chelsea having problems on the far post may well have been a good plan, but any advantage we could have gained from that move was swiftly undone by Son playing out of position at left back - which is not a gamble worth taking when playing against eleven men, let alone twelve.

Until we get into a position where switching personnel becomes an effective way of wrong-footing our opposition, instead of being a change enforced by injury or suspension, that's going to be something that holds us back.

 

The compass has done its job.

Second in the PL, at least 80 pts, and just some micro-targets that I
hope the boys are aware of and will use to drive them on in the
final 2 games.

 

This post from SotM (on another thread) had me pondering what we should do about the line-up for the last 2 games. Should we give Janssen and N'Koudou a full 2 game run (regardless of how it goes) and maybe play Josh in his best position (deeper I believe?). Give Wimmer a run out. All with a view to seeing if they can hit the ground running next season or should be moved on over the summer. Do results matter in the final 2 games - given 2nd is secured and 1st is impossible, I'd like to see fringe players have 2 games (and be told they have 2 games even if the first goes badly) just to see what they can do. Rotate our other players around them so they can start to ease down now.

 

There are no pluses to getting another 6 points other than further distancing ourselves from the pack so we have nothing to lose in rotating. I'm with you 100% on this one

 

Except I would still include Harry as he has a chance for the golden boot.


It also means, most of the players can have an extra week of rest. Ready for the charity shield which hopefully will be this team's first piece of silverware.