It’s definitely been an up and down season for Tottenham Hotspur and the last week and a bit hasn’t been any different with the departure of former manager Jose Mourinho and the caretaker appointment of Ryan Mason. We also had the nonsensical European Super League guff to deal with and then, unfortunately, we saw a spirited but attack less performance against Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final.
Now, we turn attentions back to the Premier League, as we welcome already relegated Sheffield United to White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Whatever Mason’s future might hold as we continue our managerial search, we all want a strong end to the season and although the blunted Blades might only be playing for pride now and have absolutely no pressure on them, this cannot be anything other than a comfortable win for Spurs in reality.
Although the Cup Final wasn’t a classic Spurs performance, Harry Kane will have benefited from minutes back into his legs and we could welcome back Matt Doherty as he has now returned to full training, but we will again be without Ben Davies.
Whatever squad we put out, should have enough to take all three points though and given it feels like it’ll be a big summer of change, we could do with all the momentum we can get.
SNAP!
🙂
Re Bale and Real Madrid, when a player wins you the CL with such a dynamic goal and the manager doesn’t even speak to you never mind congratulate you, for me it says more about the manager than the player, I know Bale did little to endear himself with the supporters, but perhaps the social and media thing just isn’t his bag.
Allowing that he came to us unfit, injured and a bit older, I think he has just now come back.
Bale currently for us is stepping up and “now” hitting the mark I wanted from him, I expected a 70% Bale and for me we’ve now got it.
Without trying to put the other guys down, it looks that he does have a better end product than those others in both goal returns and assists. Next week, month, year could be different.
Re Dele I just watched him play and there were just small flashes of skill there and a couple of “nearlys”
Which for me set him above Lamella and Bergs, is he better than N Dombers, I don’t know, I think he needs to show a bit more, what I do know is that on their day both are totally magical.
HT good balanced post 1:43pm.
Jose to Roma well that’s Arrivadirchee Roma.
Another couple of familiar faces at Roma: Pau Lopez and Frederico Fazio
Arrivederci Roma!
JM signed a three year contract with Roma. lol. the poor bastards. Does that get us off the hook for money owed after firing him? Thank you so, so much Roma. And we share the pain of their supporters.
This also gets the git out of London. thanks to the gods!
Sorry ND …. just noticed you’ve already guessed what I was going to put. lol : – )
For me, the bottom line with Bale (and Dele) is what they now do. (As with all the players). How they perform in these next 4 matches (if played) is what counts now more than anything in the past… If they shine, all good. If not, then so be it…
But my money is on both of them to shine as brightly as can be expected, given the in and out, up/down season they have both had so far. A run of games could make all the difference for both of them, and so the team… ………………
By the way. Real is known for being one of the most unforgiving clubs to play for. From its President and through to it’s extreme, hard-core support. The Spanish media is also ruthless in its propaganda and reporting. Often setting up players to be brutally knocked down. Not unlike the British media but a lot worse and more extreme. Especially the Sporting media that aligns itself to certain clubs and is always super critical of even the best of players.
Real supporters in their time have been known to boo and jeer, not just at Bale. But Di Maria, Ronaldo, Benzema, Cassilas, and even Zidane himself when he played. Modric was given a rough time too…
Bale didn’t help himself with his seemingly carefree attitude to being dropped. But it’s not all about him… It’s a lot to do with the hard hitting culture at Real and local media propaganda. And this is nothing new.
And with Zidane, it seems to be personal. Why? Well maybe only Bale and/or ZZ knows…
Why does Jose pick on certain players that don’t seem to cause trouble with other managers? Ask Jose. ‘Cause I can’t work it out…
And Zidane has always been an enigma and quite a harsh personality, from since his playing days…
HT, It’s entirely possible that neither ZZ nor Bale know the reasons for their rotten relationship. Humans are not very good at understanding ourselves.
True!
As for JM, he clearly has little insight into himself. No person who is personally secure would call himself the Special One. At least no one over the age of six.
It’s blunder after blunder when it comes to personal relationships for him. A master as making excuses so that he can live with himself. Getting hired by Roma in such quick fashion will only make it less likely he’ll learn anything from the latest firing.
So Roma are Mourinho’s latest victims, how long will he last this time. Good luck Roma, it will all end in tears.
Niall – it’ll take a lot more than a hat trick against an already relegated team to convince me, but I suppose it’s a step in the right direction at least.
HT – I think your comments about Zidane highlight a couple of things. First, many successful managers have demanding, abrasive personalities. You could write a book about Zidane and his fiery style, but again, it’s hard to question the results…
Zidane has been harsh on several players, as have Real fans, the Spanish media etc. All valid points. But plenty of players have gone through the same treatment (you listed a few) and emerged far better off than Bale. Which again tends to tell me that it wasn’t all the club or Zidane’s fault.
I think that in any divorce, it’s a shared responsibility and Bale cannot be absolved of all blame. That much was true of his time at Real, and that much is probably true regarding his start/stop time at Spurs.
Anyways, we all want Bale to do well in the next 4 games, for the sake of the team. But looking at the future, if the club is going to have to operate on a tighter budget in the next season or 2, I’m not sure paying those wages, for that return, is a sound return on investment.
Regarding JM and Roma, we shoyuld all celebrate the appointment. As TQ2Spurs and HT have alluded to, JM finding another job probably means we’ll be let off the hook for a large portion of his payout. That’s probably a welcome 10 million back in the club’s bank account.
I agree that Lo Celso can become a regular in the side if he stays fit. He has shown glimpses. I also have no doubt that NDombele could be great but it’s his lack of drive that worries me. His ball skills and vision are very good but he hasn’t the power that Dembele had or the goal threat of Eriksen. Flatters to deceive imo.
I have no real desire for Bale to continue with us after this season…
As for Zidane, I’ll just say this… What a fantastic player he was! One of my all time favourites.
And to be fair, it was much about his personality as well, that kind of endeared me to him. So, I wasn’t having a dig at him…
Yep HT I too loved ZZ in his playing days, re Bale I would love him for another season.
BS you answered one of my questions, does JM get full remuneration.
Was also wondering did JM have this move in the pipeline under the radar.
Geof good minds and all that.
I truly abhor “player power” more than JM. With player power, the club’s ambition becomes secondary to the player’s. What THFC has suffered in the EL, NLD and the seven PL leads at half time is akin to mutiny in my book. For those whom engineered to inflict such bitter results on the fans, it is selfish and it is unforgivable.
JM’s sin is that he has very atrocious man management skills. JM’s saving grace is that he is a formidable tactician. We were unable to get the best out of the situation to our detriment. We suffer. Some players suffer.
Letting the inmates run the asylum will eventually lead to tears.
Why wasn’t Ledley put in charge of the club till the end of the season ? Doesn’t he have the required badges yet ?
Brilliant news that Moaninho has a job at Roma. Feel so sorry for them. But thanks Roma anyway. We can recoup some of the cash that he was about to steal from us when he starts at the end of the season.
I’m pretty sure he had this lined up because he knew he was a failure at Spurs. He didn’t seem at all bothered about leaving. Such a huge relief that he has gone. What a waste of a season. Thanks for nothing Levy.
WW my sentiments exactly, I thought he had this lined up, I wonder did he leave almost by mutual consent.
I doubt Mourinho would leave by mutual consent until he had a contract in hand that guaranteed him either the money from THFC or from Roma. There could have been a wing-and-a-nod of understanding with DL that he had another job lined up, but JM would not have risked any cash in hand until the letter had been dotted and crossed.
Rome survived Mussolini, so they’ll survive Mourinho, but survival isn’t always done easily. Supporters of Lazio must be chuckling up their sleeves.
How will jose cope with at least 4 teams better then him, how long before it all goes sour for him. = sacked compo = special one