Perfect result for us. I don't have the gloom of a Chelsea win hovering over the rest of my weekend, whilst one of the few teams who could threaten for top 4 drop more points. 7 is a very, very nice cushion to have as we go into a tricky period of the fixture list with the juggling act in full swing.
Absolutely OS. We haven't really been truly convincing in Europe for a long time, the 4-1 over Monaco being the exception rather than the rule. Fiorentina are having a good season so far domestically and are similar to us in that unlike Juve, Napoli, Inter or Roma, their whole is greater than the some of their parts - they play a great team game. Those two fixtures with an Adebayor filling sandwiched in between in the FAC will be a real test. If we can navigate that trio without fatigue or injuries in confident we'll be fine in the league.
What we really do not want, is to draw with Palace in the FAC. In fact, looking at our fixture schedule, I can't immediately see when a possible replay could take place.
It begs a question that I'm not sure any of us thought we'd be asking at the start of the season - does pressing on in the League or going for the EL give us a better chance of CL qualification or even silverware? I'd honestly say we're better off neglecting the EL and making a real go of the PL and FA Cup, looking at the state of the PL right now, and the relative difficulty of the FA Cup and EL. At the very least there are a core group of players who I'd want to see nowhere near the plane going to Italy that week. That group extends to Lloris, Toby, Dier, Alli, Kane, Dembele and maybe a couple more too. Poch may well not do it but I'd be happy for him to send out a compact team set up to counterattack rather than press (and exhaust themselves) on the away leg, see if we can nick an away goal or two for the return leg at the Lane. Then if we need to roll out the cavalry then we can. I'd happily see a team built around Vorm, CCV, Bentaleb, Carroll, Mason, Onomah, Chadli and Son go out there and try and soak up Fiorentina's pressure and hit on the break. Its the kind of game Clint would be great for if he was fit as he's so quick.
The only way IMO is to simply go out to win every game regardless of the particular competition. We have a squad and MP uses it. Momentum is very important and trying to be clever with game prioritising could well damage it. No members of the squad should feel they are disposable or second best and I think MP knows this full well. The squad is our strength so let's use it as a strength and not as some kind of second string.
It's something that I'm torn over too. I see the EL (in it's latter stages, which is when the FA becomes relevant anyway) as being far more prestigious and magical than the FAC. The idea of sitting at WHL to watch Spurs step out against the likes of Dortmund, Porto, Napoli etc. is just more exciting than anyone they could draw in the FA, save perhaps for a North London derby final. On the other hand, the FA is probably far easier to win. I would tend towards prioritising the EL for two main reasons: A) The latter stages of the tournament really do serve to raise the club's global profile. Once you're in to the last 16, you're talking largely about a collection of Europe's household names and many millions more probably tune in to watch than they would for the FA Cup. B) The added prestige and magic of a Europe evening playing the likes of the above surely instills more confidence in the side than playing Colchester away or Palace at home? But I think PNP is correct: other than Kane, for whom we have no obvious back-up, we are well equipped in most other areas. In order to juggle all 3, we will need to start giving lots more games to Mason, Bentaleb and Onomah and be prepared to rest Dier completely, not simply drop him into defense as we did against Monaco.
Kante is way way better than just "good" he is superb and will only get better next season after his first full season in the Prem. Drinkwater has been excellent too this season, Ranieri has really brought him on leaps and bounds and deserves a call up for the England friendlies.
I've also been very impressed by Drinkwater this season, He's one of the few players in your team who can pass the ball accurately and creatively. Just glancing at City's fixture list for Feb/March and bloody hell! Tottenham (H) Chelsea (A) FAC Dynamo Kiev (A) CL Liverpool (COC Final) Liverpool (A) Villa (H) Norwich (A) Dynamo Kiev (H) Man Utd (H) Full of banana skins, that is.
I wasn't intending to suggest the team I did as a 'second string', apart from CCV, Vorm and Onomah all the players I suggested taking to Italy have been fixtures in our PL teams this season and apart from the 3 above I don't necessarily view them as 'lesser' than the guys I'd leave at home. I do think however there is a merit to setting up differently under the circumstances (fixture congestion and fighting on 3 fronts, where the EL is probably 3rd priority) and the team I suggested taking out is suited to playing that way and leaves others fresh and without the need to travel ahead of a key FA Cup tie and potentially a must win EL home leg. The vast majority of the squad I do not view as disposable or second best, but the reality is that we have a core group of players who we expect to start key Cup games and all the league games and under the circumstances I would hope they would be rested. We have the strength of squad such that resting them doesn't mean a much weaker team, especially if we set up a bit differently. This is good, because as you say momentum is key and I want us to put out a team capable of winning every game in order to keep that momentum. On CK's point, I don't see the prestige of the EL when we're potentially into the CL next season (wouldn't want to sacrifice that for 30 seconds of fame in the EL personally, especially as I don't back our record in the competition). As it is the FA Cup means more to me than the EL especially given our league prospects re. CL qualification so I would prioritise the domestic competitions. We're lucky where for the majority of positions, changing the team up is squad rotation, not fielding a second string.
I couldn’t agree more. The team is in just about the best possible state of mind right now. It seems to be enjoying exploring how well it can play, and finding new gears. Can it keep right on going through the end of the season? Possibly not. Perhaps even probably not. But it’s too clever by half to do anything to check the momentum at this point. Never change a winning game. Change the approach when and if this one isn’t working. The squad seems to be thriving playing twice a week. I had earlier favored playing all second choice in the cups to concentrate on the league. Not now, when a light rotation policy in all competitions has produced our best football through a period of some fixture congestion. Keep doing exactly what we’ve been doing.
TBH I was working with the assumption that failing to qualify for the CL the conventional way via a top-4 or higher will be an utter travesty given the ****e being dished up by everyone apart from Leicester this season. If we don't make top 4 we don't deserve a trophy to massage our egos as far as I'm concerned. As I've said elsewhere (probably in an expletive-laden rant at the closing of the transfer window ), I see 4th + a final appearance as the minimum requirement this season, or 3rd without a trophy. Given that choice, I'd rather go all the way in the EL than the FA. In an ordinary season I would argue that the EL inhibits or chances of top 4 and that it shouldn't be prioritised. This season isn't ordinary.
I’ll take your word for it. I haven’t watched Leicester that closely, but have been impressed with Kante. My point wasn’t to disrespect your players. It was to note how closely your team fit a certain Italian manager’s famous prescription for a perfect team.
I honestly wouldn't put it past us to mess it up mate. This is Spurs. We've looked a different beast at times under Poch but we're still Tottenham Hotspur. The key IMO is finishing as high up the league this year as is possible as next year's league is going to be a different kettle of fish entirely, followed by going as far in the FA Cup as possible, followed by the EL. The FA Cup is an easier fight for Spurs than the EL IMO and I'd rather we have a proper go at that and push on in the league, than play more games and travel more in the EL and ultimately fall through in a competition we usually find a way to balls up. This season is far from ordinary and for me that means we should capitalise on the competitions that mean the most - which for me is the PL and FA Cup. If we were in the CL I might think differently but we're not there yet.
So here we're in full agreement. If we get to the QF stage of the EL at the beginning of April and our league form is somehow floundering, I'd say 'screw it' to the EL as it's an extra 5 games and those games are likely to be really tough. We have to play Liverpool. United, Stoke away and Chelsea away in April plus the WBA grudge match so I also wouldn't prioritise EL unless we're absolutely confident in our PL form. As you say, in many ways it could be 'now or never' for top 4 this year, and securing a 'now' could be as good as an 'always'.
If we prioritised the EL, got knocked out and then finished 4th, then that would have been pointless.
For me, priority is going for the title, and if we don't quite get there, we'll get 2nd or 3rd. That gets us into the CL, which is where we really want to be and will make it easier to attract any prospective new signings come summer. The rest, whilst it would be nice to win, is secondary, IMO.
