Season compass 2017-18

As i said when the CL KO draw was made,
those 3 PL games would have immense bearing
on the Juventus fixtures.

Not to lose any of those games, against two of whom
are also CL KO stage participants, and the manner
of the play, has set Spurs up very nicely indeed.

 

They have enough of a gap now to wrap it up by the time they play us, just need to match Utd from here on in

We are now on for 79 points. That'll get top 4.

 

Juve away tommoz is the big one, they are no mugs, I don't expect it to be easy. A score draw would be a good result.

 

I have us currently down for 74 pts.

 

Sorry, should have been clearer, I meant based on my prediction above. Had us to lose to Utd and Pool, so 4 points gained.

 

I guess this is the place to discuss the run-in?

Next 2 fixtures for top 6 (being charitable by spreading it to 6)

C Palace v Spurs
Spurs v Huddersfield

Man Utd v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham
Arsenal v Man City
Liverpool v Newcastle
Brighton v Arsenal
Man City v Chelsea
C Palace v Man Utd

IF we win our 2, then either Chelsea or Man Utd (or both) will drop points. If City beat both Arsenal and Chelsea we are 10 points ahead of Arsenal possibly 5 points above Chelsea. I think Liverpool should win both their games, and Utd will probably beat Palace so we'll be in 4th, but within a win of Utd and Liverpool. The next game then is.....

Utd v Liverpool. 3rd is within our grasp with only 8 games to play.

 

Spurs have 4 PL games with teams near/in the drop
zone before a possible 6 pointer against Chelsky.
One of which is the Toon (who reminded us on sunday
they will not be lying down to die) .

 

Frankly there is the top 5/6, 1/2 in limbo and the rest are relegation threatened. all clubs will be playing teams desperate to gain points (for a while anyway). Only WBA are gone so far.

 

Yesterday IMHO is now the pivotal moment for the
PL run-in. Juventus have had a classically Italian
defence for most of this season, yet Spurs breached
them twice (and could have been more) .

The PL busparquet, Wembley or elsewhere, is now
SOLELY in the MINDS of the squad. if you can
do that to Juventus, you can do that to ANY PL team
who dares to try it on.

 

I wonder if our season doesn't hinge on the fitness of Mousa Dembele. In the past, he's occasionally gotten the recognition he's deserved, once being named the best box to box midfielder in Europe, another time being described by Hazard as a better player. No one in football, I think, did as much as Dembele to win the battle for the ball. Few were better at dispossessing; none, perhaps, at avoiding being disposessed--or for making other top midfielders look like boys.

This year, a player who always looked to me like he was suffering from some sort of chronic problem, which Pochettino confirmed, seemed to be winding down. But in the past couple of weeks, at a crucial stretch of the season, not only has Dembele returned to top form, he seems to have reached his highest level yet. In the games against Man U and Juve, he completely nullified Pogba and erased all traces of Khedira from the earth for 90 minutes, respectively. I'm not sure there's anything we can't do if he stays healthy. Kane's our biggest star, Eriksen the player we need most, Vertonghen perhaps our most consistent performer, but Dembele knocks other teams onto the back foot with his combination of strength and technique.

 

Not so long ago I read an article where the author had asked the question of 'who is the best footballer in the Spurs side' to a number of Spurs players. The answer was unanimous, Mousa Dembele.

 

At his ‘best’ he is amazing, but we need another 10-12 games of that level from him over the final weeks of the season.
But the more confidence he gets with his fitness may have the added advantage of convincing him to push forward more and take more shots. The way the team is set up and the mobility of the players around him should allow for that. Engaging the opposition in the final third with his strength in possession can only also free up space for others.

 

For the big games, IMHO things now depend on
Toby / Wanyama / Dembele / Eriksen / Kane.

Actually my confidence is the squad is sufficient
that I would be quite happy to try and rest both
Toby and Wanyama for all remaining CL games
and any domestic games against the PL top 6.

 

It's been said on match threads before (and quite recently) that a lot of the time Dembele isn't doing anything useful with the ball, just running around with it. I would disagree with it, because he is always looking to do something incisive but above that, just keeping the ball and retaining possession in the way he does must have a demoralising effect on the opposition. You may not be able to measure it in stats, but I think it has an effect on them - particularly the bigger teams who expect more possession - perhaps for the lesser teams that are parking the bus it doesn't matter so much.

 

He is a uniquely gifted player with an unusual skill set - hence it took him over 3 years to properly settle here and not a single big club has ever been seriously linked with him.

The closest equivalent I can think of to describe him is when your older brother joins in with your game and agrees not to score to even it out a bit.

 

He is also now playing 90 minutes. Wasn't long ago he'd be the first off when he was starting. Must suggest an injury problem has been resolved?

 

PL (like for like with 2016-17 after 28 games) : Pts = -12 , GF = -17, GA = +2.

Effectively at 2 pts per game now, but only on
for 74 pts if we complete this season like for like.

 

He always looked very confused when AVB was the manager, yes I know we all were, it was almost as if he had been told not to go nearer to the goal than 40 yards.

 

There was one time he got within 25 yards, though...

 

PL (like for like with 2016-17 after 29 games) : Pts = -12 , GF = -18, GA = +2.