Absolutely....next 5 games can elevate us to another level. Failing that and the demons will come to the fore again.
Half the board wrote the season off at the start. Now it’s imperative we finish top four and win the FA Cup in order for the season to not be a disaster. Spurs fans, we’re a different breed
I think the tension stems from the fact that for 3 seasons we have largely exceeded expectations at all levels, perhaps falling short in Europe last season but more than making up for that in the league. 4th and a trophy is NOT an overachievement. With this group of players and a manager now with almost 6 seasons in the PL under his belt, 4th and a trophy is pretty much par for the course now. Not accepting this and instead turning to mitigating factors such as Wembley and injuries are all the hallmarks of a small-club mentality. The same mentality that has dragged Arsenal to where they are now. This is where the pressure stems from; the knowledge that if we fail to deliver, it will to my mind for the first time represent Poch not ticking the boxes he is paid to tick and he will have deserved any criticism that subsequently comes his way.
Dissecting this OBJECTIVELY ... ON PAPER it is for Spurs. But since 2009 the club has finished in the PL top 4 at least 4 times in the past 8 seasons. That implies that the club as far as on-pitch matters go, Spurs are adept at pouncing when the five financially richer clubs falter in any way in the PL. "Not accepting this and instead turning to mitigating factors such as Wembley and injuries are all the hallmarks of a small-club mentality." ON PAPER Wembley had the potential to be an issue. The reality is that it was overcome. Not as quickly as we would have liked, but overcome regardless. Injuries have not been an issue this season. Has Pochettino said they have been ?? The squad and the playing system have compensated for what could have been biggies (the long term outage for Rose/ Wanyama/Toby) . "The same mentality that has dragged Arsenal to where they are now." Not true. Their problem has been institutional arrogance, from manager upwards, that their place in the PL top 4 could be maintained indefinitely. The warning signs were there in 2012 and 2013. Now that all of the current top 6 are playing to a decent standard, they have been found wanting (perhaps fatally so) . "This is where the pressure stems from; the knowledge that if we fail to deliver, it will to my mind for the first time represent Poch not ticking the boxes he is paid to tick and he will have deserved any criticism that subsequently comes his way." The pressure is coming from the fact that we have : - a potential repeat of 2012 (FA Cup SF + CL slot not yet secured) - much bigger financial consequences (new WHL) than 2012 if a CL slot is lost.
CK you are most the time a reasonable and measured poster but you have your moments when your blast gun comes out and you shoot from the hip. Small club mentality? Compared to what? Have you noticed the stadium we are building? Did you notice us have the front and expectation to rent Wembley? Did you notice the training facilities that Levy has built? These are the actions of a club that resides in the top 10 percent of world football clubs not a small club. I think you could argue that we are the best run club in the PL in terms of finances. We are easily the most successful in finding bargain players like Toby like Lucas, and before them like Bale and Modric. In this football business if you are City or United or Barca or Madrid, you can spend a 100 million on a player, we get the same quality for 20-30 million. Sometimes I think Spurs fans don't appreciate what they have. A fantastic history and maintaining throughout an ethic to play decent football and at times magnificent football. Small club? This is the greatest professional football club in the world as far as I am concerned.
Amazing when one looks back and remembers that Spurs started playing on the Tottenham Marshes and graduated to Wembley!
I think people too easily confuse pessimism with high expectations. Finance is irrelevant when the reality is that the individuals who step onto the pitch happen to comfortably be one of the best 3 or 4 squads in the country. A top 3 or 4 squad should be securing CL football year on year and should be winning trophies at a decent clip. We look to be achieving one of those goals let's see if we can crack the other. It does my nut in when people go on about money and how we need to be realistic when stacked up against the really big guns. We do to a certain extent but why be afraid to dream bigger than the guff about having the 6th best financial clout so technically we are punching above our weight? Does anyone on this forum seriously rate United as a better team than us under any discernible measure other than revenue? Same for Liverpool; other than Salah do they employ a player who would hold down a place in our starting xi? The fact that both clubs dwarf us financially should bear no relevance to the fact that out on a relatively small patch of turf, we are better than them. And as such, I expect us to be above them in the league. But the Wembley factor is a valid excuse for us not being there. All the praise correctly spelled out by Spurf points in the direction of one man: Daniel Levy. Off the pitch we are a true success story, one of the few clubs in the world doing things the old.fashioned way without a sugar daddy to sign the cheques. It's high time the people on the pitch - from coaching staff to the players - caught up with Levy's vision and his own personal refusal to believe that we are a small club experiencing a brief flash in the pan. Top 4 and the FA cup will leave me confident that we have the manager and players who can bridge that gap. Top 4 and no cup will leave me doubtful. 5th and no cup will leave me in open rebellion, i'll admit that. And as an aside, I greatly appreciate what I 'have'. Unlike many posters on this forum, I started supporting Spurs during some dark, dark days and stuck with them through some horrendous years of total ****e. Where we are now compared to the limp, pathetic team i watched lose 7-1 to Newcastle then 6-1 to 1st division Bolton is night and day. But the time for this group of players to hit the next level is surely now.
The fact that we can claim we are better than United or Liverpool. a claim we might face some arguments about, surely shows what a a great job Pochettino and his team are doing. Finance sadly plays a huge role in professional football and as one of the worlds richest clubs we can hardly complain. However to start listing your shopping list of expectations is to ignore the nature of the game of football. Only City in the PL can claim to have met their expectations and they have been knocked out of the CL and the FA cups. Arsenal expect Chelsea expect, both have more financial muscle than us and both are not doing as well as us. Hopes yes but expectations will often lead to disappointment in a period of Spurs history where we should be, and I am, enjoying the level that Levy and Pochettino and their assistants have reached with Spurs.
ABSOLUTELY! Tense? Yes, of course I'm tense! But that's because I'm excited at the potential outcomes for us right now. And I shan't view the season as a disaster if we achieve neither. I'm afraid that 4th in the PL and FA Cup semi-finalists (at least) make this a successful season, so far as I'm concerned.
I'm not trying to score points for longevity! I omitted to add that this helps me to cope with any disappointments, and (like CK) to appreciate what I "have". It also helps that for me the performance in each game is my main source of pleasure (or otherwise). Not trophies per se - which is what some folks give priority to, and what our detractors annoyingly focus upon. If Spurs were not worth watching, I'd still be a fan - but I wouldn't be a happy one. A long, pin-point crossfield pass from Hoddle to Galvin, or a stunning early strike from Kane, or a perfectly timed tackle from Ledley - for me these are worth the price of the ticket! (One of the reasons I'll really miss Toby, if/when he goes!) So now you know! And I somehow don't expect 100% agreement from my fellow fans. But for me there's too much emphasis on short-term satisfaction these days, underlined by short concentration spans. The Old Codger has spoken. Back to the armchair and slippers now, after all that effort.
In 2005-9 we were battling it out with Blackburn and Bolton and Boro to come top 6 (apart from. the lasagne season In 2006) In 2009-2014 we we trying to get into the CL but never had the destiny in our own hands other than 2010 and 2012. The previous 2 seasons have been a huge shift for us and although we have dipped this season we must remember that we have not played any home games. I can not believe the difference in us since 2005 when Jol started our revival. I can almost forget the dross darkness that was 1992-2004....almost!
Just something that I forget to mention and I don't think that I've seen discussed. What did people think of the switch of Kane into a deeper role for part of the second half? It didn't really work out in the end, but I thought that it was an interesting tactical switch and had future possibilities. Might be something worth keeping in mind when he's fully fit and doesn't fall over every ten minutes.
I think we were doing that early last season when we brought up Janssen to play two up top. Might have paid off if Janssen thought he was facing Eredivisie defences...
We've tried it a couple of times with Llorente, too. Mixed success and limited game time. Interesting to see it done with a pacier forward further up, though. Could be useful as an option, if we could find the right striker.
