Interesting reading this again. Seems many of us weren't too happy with Poch back in August. Safe to say he's won us all over now! COYS!!!
It's funny how the exact things that I was complaining about have been addressed in this campaign. We're not too nice now. We don't lack grit. Our opponents don't expect to have an easy time. There's a sense of fear from a lot of them. Quite drastic changes for such a short period of time. It's far from perfect, but there's a real sense of progress and change. It's a shame that Boss hasn't posted in a while, though. Edit: Also quite funny to note that I had a pop at Jonathan Moss for folding under pressure! Some things never change, eh?
Yeah... There was some cautious optimism and some were up for being proved wrong. What a crazy season it's been! The characters are in place and as this team is so young, if we can keep the group together we could be looking at further progression. I can't hear any echo's of failure!
The cruel thing for you Spurs fans is that the ambition is usually to finish ahead of two of Utd, CIty, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool to finish top four. This season you're ahead of all five (and will comfortably finish ahead of all five), yet, astonishingly, you're still not top of the league. It could be glorious failure in the most unexpected circumstances.
I have considered that... The ultimate Spursy thing to happen. It's the progression under Poch that is interesting to highlight from where we were at the start of the season.
It was the transfer window that changed things for me. I looked at what we had done and thought this manager has made all the right moves. Getting rid of under performing players and dealing with our defensive frailties. He had improved our fitness levels out of sight and in hindsight he had made the correct moves in the right order. As I said it was the transfer window that lead me to believe we just might have a manager with half a chance of staying a while. I thought we might do quite well NEXT season, I still do, but the speed of our rise is a very welcome surprise. Great thread btw Shark probably one of the most interesting for quite a while.
Yep, great thread Shark, and good to come back and review with hindsight. What I love about this moment is that it's becoming clear that Pochettino is a bigger factor than many wanted to acknowledge. They are going to have to now, and I'm not just talking about us Spurs fans. All of those ex Southampton players who jumped to Man U and Liverpool simply haven't been as effective as they were under Pochettino. He has done what I was wishing many to do before - make us systematically solid. The icing on top is the exciting flair play that is now bearing fruits. He is the closest we've had to a Ferguson in that his coaching is raising the players to be greater than the sum of their parts. I for one hope he stays as long as Fergie did at Man U.
Read the BBC article I put in the "Stock taking" article for what would constitute this (the best attack/defence stats but finishing second - apparently these are the traits of PL champions and only Man Utd in 1998 had this but were not winners) .
On thing that needs to be said after this season... You know when Lamela pops up on the teamsheet? Every time he does that, I get flashbacks to this...
The two As - Alderweireld and Alli have made all the difference. Alli has given you something extra going forward which was missing. And Kane found form, of course.
The combination of Dier moving into midfield and the Dembelessance have both contributed a lot. Last season's Mason/Bentaleb pivot may have been very good at getting the ball moving forward, but from a defensive standpoint it often left our back four exposed (and the fact Fazio was in that back four did not help matters) while also being easy to muscle out of games. A season later the combination of Dier being a revelation in midfield while Dembele has recaptured his 2012-13 form has made our midfield so much more solid defensively and a lot harder to bully out of games, and that's had a knock-on effect to the rest of the team. Just nobody call them Double D...
Frankly all of them have progressed, and the ones that didn't have been cut loose. I've read interviews from current first team players like Kane where he say that if someones gonna come to Spurs then they're expected to train really hard and get with the program. I'd have suspected that Vertonghen and Dembele might not have been up for it but i'm so glad they are. Dire stepping into midfield. The performance of Alli and Alderweireld. Kane continuing his scoring form after a difficult early spell, Lamela becoming almost the poster-boy for Poch's approach. There are very few negatives and that my friends, is both unexpected and very very welcome.
