Hey guys. Good news to some, bad news to more...I'm alive. Thought I'd have one last hurrah before leaving these green cyber-pastures for good. Business first, pleasure second... Player Ratings 2017/18 (10+ PL starts) Hugo Lloris - 6/10 Far too many jittery moments and abysmal distribution coupled with him being a pointless choice of captain. Still capable of unbelievable agility both in the air and with his feet, also not helped at all by a constantly-rotating back line. But you need and want better from your captain and second most experienced player. Kieran Trippier - 6/10 It's no great secret that I am NOT a fan of DH's assist hero. Too one-dimensional for me and only seems to 'turn it on' offensively against teams set up poorly. The simple way to nullify his threat is to instruct your LB not to venture beyond the halfway line, something even Newport managed to do comfortably. Defensively immense in a number of games though, most notably against Real. Serge Aurier - 3/10 I'm all for giving new arrivals time and slack, especially when they are short of a decent pre-season. But it worries me gravely when a supposedly professional footballer cannot even do the basics right. Some bright moments seriously marred by ridiculous fouls and penalties. And don't get me started about the trio of foul throws. Getting in the way of KWP now and should be sold, embarrassing as that may be. Dave Sanchez - 8/10 Had his wobbly moments and seemed to shy away from the more physical tussles unique to the PL. But overall, to be thrown in the deep end and perform as consistently as Big Dave is nothing short of remarkable. So comfortable on the ball and has excellent anticipation for such a young player. HUGE future ahead of him. Jan Vertonghen - 9/10 Player of the season IMHO. Has long been my favourite player, largely due to the fact that he is an annoying prick like me. But what a prick he is. Rolls Royce of a player now at his absolute peak and a joy to watch. Proved this year that he is the true brains of the operation at the back, not Toby. ****ing love this man. Toby Alderweireld - 5/10 Severely curtailed season due to injury and then being frozen out by Poch. What can I say? I'll miss the guy but am confident that when it comes to the defence, Poch knows exactly what he is doing and the caliber of potential replacements being spoken about supports that. Ben Davies - 8/10 Our most improved player. Consummate professional who is clearly working overtime to improve his attacking game. Rarely puts a foot wrong although needs to wise-up against speed merchants and give himself a couple of yards before they hit the afterburners. Understandably tired towards the end of the season but this guy is going to get even better as he approaches his peak. Danny Rose - 2/10 Goodbye. And he doesn't even have 10+ PL starts. Piss off. Eric Dier - 6/10 Solid if totally unspectacular player. Got his head right after a rumour-filled summer which I admire but his game is far too littered with lapses in concentration to help us really hit that next level. After 4 years in the PL I can't see him progressing much further but would love to be proven wrong as anyone who poleaxes Eden Hazard is a friend of mine. Moussa Dembele - 6/10 Time has finally caught up with the man mountain. Still pulled off some scintillating, untouchable performances - helping us to that unbeaten stretch after the turn of the year. But clearly suffering the effects of years of niggling injuries and clearly playing though pain. On his day, still peerless, but those days are few and far between. Dele Alli - 7/10 Looked totally disinterested early on in the season but grew into it as the year went on and ended it with a very healthy return of goals and assists. Frustrating as watching John Terry lift a trophy at times, but the lad clearly has something very special. Was never going to hit the heights of last season given our lack of width and subsequent lack of space in the central areas, but still contributed significantly. Christian Eriksen - 8/10 Comfortably his best season in a Spurs shirt and whilst the set-pieces remain as **** West Ham, it was a delight to see him take so many games by the lapels and dictate them from start to finish. Aside from Kane and Jan our only totally indispensable player IMHO who would cost over £100m to replace. Wouldn't mind him starting deeper next season and push Lucas up top. Moussa Sissoko - 4/10 Does his job, never complains and was a useful player amidst regular midfield injury crises. But as I said back in the winter, there is no getting away from the fact that watching him play football is like watching a kid with no hands or feet being encouraged by his well-meaning but ultimately deluded parents to ride a bike. Not happening. Son Heung-Min - 7/10 Many have said that this was his best season for us but I still struggle to come to terms with his infuriating inconsistency. He'll go on ridiculous scoring runs for half a dozen games tearing opposition defences to shreds but will then vanish entirely for the next half a dozen games. The new feather in his hat is his ability to score a worldie even when he has done nothing the entire game, Palace and West Ham being good examples of this. With more consistency we'd have a £70m player on our hands. Harry Kane - 9/10 Still allergic to August and still struggling with that ankle but the drive and ambition of my namesake is unbelievable. Record after record tumbles when he sets his mind to something and now he can add quality performances in the CL to his impressive CV. Our talisman and totally irreplaceable. As for me guys, cutting a long story short I reacted VERY badly to our FA Cup exit. Let's just say that I may have said things that I now regret and came to realise that I take football way too seriously. As DH once said, 'Spurs or sex?' and for a long while I wasn't enjoying either of them So this'll be the last of my mind-numbing essays on this site, nearly 3 years since joining. A huge thanks to our phenomenal mods PNP, Spurf and the lesser-spotted NKNG. And to all of you for the banter, humour and truly insightful debate. I mean it when I say that it has been a blast. As my legacy to you, I leave you the Sullivan & Gold Comedy Corner. That thread will be busy for decades to come I've been CK, you've been top drawer. Over n out people. COYS
So now you will rant about Spurs, in the real world, to the irritation of those around you and with no respite for them.
I'll miss reading your posts CK, as well as spying that cracking avatar and knowing I'm in for a good rant. Take care out there in the real world. My 2 cents on ratings (I'l try and do everyone in the 1st team squad with caveats for those we haven't seen that much of like KWP or Moura) 1. Lloris - maddeningly frustrating in some ways (the brain farts, the distribution), sublime in others. Not his best season for us and agree with many that the captaincy doesn't seem to sit well with him. 7/10 seems harsh but fair. Tough love 2. Trippier - I'm a fan, though obviously a downgrade on Walker. He's tried to step up though and seeing Aurier play reminds me he's not that bad. Also a 7/10 3. Rose - mouthed off, got fat etc. All that said I want us to keep him if he sorts his attitude and fitness out. For now though, 3/10, but not irredeemable 4. Toby - season of two halves, since the injury and the freeze out its been great to see others step up. Rolls Royce of a player for the first part of the season though. Overall I'll give him a 5/10 5. Jan - I love this man. A key part of the spine of the team. Give him the armband. 9/10 6. Sanchez - storming first season and deserved his new contract today. Still a work in process but an 8/10 even so. Much, much more to come 7. Sonny - 7/10. Bit of a streaky player but produced some sensational moments (I remember the Wet Spam goal in particular as I was half cut at the time on a school night and ran round the pub jumping on complete strangers. I think they were Spurs fans, or very tolerant). Great work ethic even when its not going his way 10. Kane - the big man, the talisman. Even his customary slow start and an injury layoff couldn't stop him hitting 30. 9/10 11. Lamela - one of my favourite players made a return and I think we keep hold of him. He's got real talent in there and the work ethic to match it. 6/10 and I hope more to come 12. Wanyama - bit of a dip on last year's excellent debut season especially towards the last few fixtures. Stonking goal against the Mousers though. 6/10 13. Vorm - solid when we needed him. Less said about the FA Cup the better though. Wouldn't be too bothered if he left. 6/10 15. Dier - I really like him because he's angry and think his versatility makes him key for us. His standards slipped a bit this year though. I'd say a 6/10 17. Sissoko - better than last year but that's not saying much. I'll be generous and give him 3/10 for honest endeavour 18. Llorente - NEXT STRIKER PLEASE 2/10 19. Dembele - may be his last season in a Spurs shirt. Injuries and age are creeping up on him. Unstoppable on his day but those are becoming fewer and further in-between. 7/10 for the good times, such as they were 20. Alli - shocking season for the experienced 22 year old, only 9 goals and 10 assists in the league. We should sell him. 7/10 21. Foyth - hardly seen him outside the cups. Looked promising but raw 22. Paulo G - if Vorm leaves the second choice keeper shirt is in safe hands IMO 23. Eriksen - his best season in a Spurs shirt even if he's forgotten how to take free kicks. the spine of the team is Jan, Eriksen and Kane now. 9/10 24. Aurier - I have no time for him. Get out of KWP's way. 1/10 27. Moura - Looked dangerous pretty much whenever he got onto the pitch. Hopefully we see even more of him after a full pre-season 29. Winks - looked to be taking the world by storm and all set for a starring role in England's three games at the WC. Then injury hit, he probably never fully recovered his game and fitness. I hope he comes back firing next season as he could be a big player for us in the future. 7/10 when he was fully fit 33. Davies - definitely most improved this year, and tired at the end thanks to our DoF's lack of playing time. 7/10 37. KWP - our next RB IMO. Hopefully much more to come. Raw but very promising
Real shame to see you go, mate. Been a good laugh on here with ya. I reckon the real reason you've jacked it in is because it's another season of finishing below me in the prediction leagues but I won't rub it in... Much. As for ratings: Hugo - 6.5 - Not been his best, made a few mistakes but still managed to pull of a few great saves and is easily the best keeper we've had in the Prem. Vorm - 6.5 - Would've been a 7 as he's been reliable when called upon but I felt he could've done a bit better for the second goal in the semi final. Gazzaniga - 10 - One game, one MOTM and he's a sexy bastard. I'd have threesomes every weekend with Margot Robbie lookalikes if I had his looks. Tripps - 7.5 - Massively underrated player. Improved so much defensively and can be a real threat going forward when the team utilise him. Aurier - 3 - Really excited when he joined, shown a few glimpses but been dreadful on the whole. Can't even do certain basics. KWP - 7.5 - Few chances but impressed in most. Two Prem starts and two MOTM awards, huge future and needs to take Aurier's place. Toby - 5 - Started the season fine, got injured, had a few decent games since returning but his Leicester performance alone drops him a whole grade. Jan - 10 - What a season. Absolute rock. POTS by an absolute mile in the end. Dave - 9 - 21 years old, debut season and with a few wobbly moments aside has adjusted incredibly. Immense future ahead of him. Foyth - 6.5 - few chances, shows some great technique with the ball that puts him in the Jan mould but needs a few steak dinners. Rose - 3.5 - Would've been a 3 but he played like the Rose of old against Leicester. Will happily keep him if he gets his head down. Davies - 8.5 - Really stepped up a level this season, would've given him a 9 but the past month or so he was clearly burnt out and performances showed. Dier - 6 - Below par by his standards, still a very reliable player but needs to up it for next season or risk losing his place. Wanyama - 5.5 - Hit a wonderstrike against Pool but a shadow of the beast we saw last season. Dembele - 5.5 - Excellent in Jan and Feb, terrible outside of that. Huge shame to see him crumble like this. Winks - 5 - Played well against Madrid but that was his only good showing from memory. Not sure if he has a future or not. Would like to think so but wouldn't lose sleep if sold. Two long injuries is also a concern at his age. Sissoko - 5 - Does a job, works hard and seems professional but we unfortunately require more. Sonny - 7.5 - Gone off the boil the past couple months but still had a great season. Eriksen - 9.5 - His most consistent season, not gone drifting out of games like he has in the past, incredible player to watch. One of our very best. Dele - 8 - Started really slowly but picked up superbly later on. Our man for the big games, just a shame most of the squad don't have his big game mentality. Lamela - 6.5 - Rusty at times but also brilliant at times. Massive fan of his and don't think there's many better squad players around than him. Lucas - 6.5 - Kind of wish I could give him more as he's impressed when played but he's barely had chances. Excited to see more next season. Kane - 9.5 - What a player. Didn't look great since returning from injury but was still scoring goals. He's one of the best in the world. Nando - 3 - Not worked for him, not helped by the fact we didn't adjust tactics to suit his game but nonetheless a poor signing. Hopefully you change your mind on quitting on us, CK, but if not, wish you all the best, bud. If you use Twitter feel free to PM me and I'll chuck my @ over
That's a shame....you're leaving because you took the Semi final defeat really badly? I was fuming and only last week I was saying that it still irks on me. Just take the summer off..you'll be raring to go again in 3 months time It's always a shame to lose a comrade...well I'm hoping you come to your senses and start posting again when the new season kicks off. All the best my friend
Cheers CK - but never say never - I thought the same a few years back, but here I still am! Don't think you were alone after the SF and overreaction was widespread. As for the rankings - you summed up my thoughts pretty much, so thanks!
You'll be back.......... New Stadium....? Champions League.......? GKN's glorious return.....? You know it makes sense. Hope to see you next season when we put the band back together again.
If @Citizen Kane is really going (and I hope he changes his mind) can he at least tell us who he was before. Knew way too much background 3 years ago to be a newbie. Although a change of mind would be the best idea.
Oh come on, CK! Why don't you just sign up for the two prediction leagues? Then you can add a comment or three if you have time that week, but if not you'll still be staying in touch. It'd just be 5 mins per week. Plus any extra time you can manage. And what kind of "business" can possibly be more important that staying in touch with your Tottingham chums? I mean, really! Fink abaht it!!!!!
@Citizen Kane is his own man and if he has had enough we have to respect that, equally if he changes his mind, he'll be welcomed back. If you love someone you have to let them go sorry overdose of saccharin
