I didn't keep records Do you not remember Bale the Jonah? and Modric is too lightweight, and Vertonghen is lazy and useless? I read all these comments some over and over.
Not necessarily. Squad players can be just as important. Especially when an area of your team is so depleted and lacking quality. Of course, I'd have loved it if we signed Milinkovic-Savic/ de Jong/ Ndombele. But that still doesn't mean CM can't be improved upon without those. If we had Grealish for instance, he may or may not have been a regular starter but he would've allowed a much better rotation policy with Sissoko and Winks. Just one added player can mean that the fitness levels of others can be managed a lot better. Instead, we didn't get anyone and now every Spurs fan far and wide are praying Moussa's injury isn't as bad as it seemed.
You make a good case for Grealish. We only know the circumstances as reported in the papers so we may have messed up or we may have not. Everyone is allowed to make mistakes and only those brave enough to make decisions do.
Problem is, Spurf, there's a very good chance we wouldn't have needed all this patience if we strengthened. This team is so, so close to being something special but it's also so, so close to dropping off if we end up losing more key players (which I think will happen if we don't have a brilliant season). We've elevated ourselves to a position now where success and failure are so close to one another. I just want us to continue going on the up, rather than risk falling off.
Lamela was ruined by numerous things: * The expectation that he'd walk into the team and be an instant Bale replacement * The Baldini Splurge meant we had too many players vying for starting places, which in turn led to AVB chopping and changing the lineup for every match to try and get as many of them playing as he could * The fact nobody considered it a potential problem that his English was so poor the only member of the squad he could reliable communicate with was Roberto Soldado (and it does say a lot that he was taking ESL courses once Poch arrived, just as it says a lot that any problems Foyth would have faced when he arrived due to his poor grasp of English were mitigated by playing alongside at least one of Sanchez and Gazzaniga every time he played in his first season) And that's before the first round of injuries hit
Back from the game. Well, that was extreeeeemely frustrating. We have a better forward line than them. We have a better defence than them. We played better than them. The crowd were well up for it. We lost. It happens. Eventually I'll get over it. Like last year's game, we should have had 5 or 6. De Gea had a worldie. He's allowed to, he's probably the best goalkeeper in the world but why the **** did we keep trying to place the ball across him at the perfect height for him to save with his legs? It's only what he's known for, the whole world over. ****ing thrash it in or dink it, for all that's holy! Oh well, that's it from me.
When England's best options at CM are Henderson, Barkley and one or two others, is it any wonder Winks has played for England?
I think we ARE at another level and we may lose players but we will replace them. Even United lost Ronaldo. As long as we can keep Pochettino I believe Spurs are in for some years of success.
We've been at the same level for nearly four years now. 3rd, 2nd, 3rd and currently 3rd again. We've essentially become a bit like Arsenal (eurgh) in which they were a good side but never the best and thus just "happy" getting the "CL place trophy". Don't get me wrong, this is far better than being a CL place hopeful that we were for so long but my worry is that we may drop back into that if we continue failing to improve on where we are. We've done amazing to be where we are while our rivals have strengthened but I think it's naive if we/ the club thinks this model can continue.