Tottenham Hotspur fans can be forgiven for moving quickly on from the embarrassment that was the Newcastle United clash last weekend and with a point doing absolutely nothing for our hopes for a strong end to the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, many are again simply looking for a more Spurs like performance when we face Manchester United this coming Sunday.
Welcoming Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devil’s to White Hart Lane, we all know this isn’t going to be an easy game at all as they will be hoping to chase local neighbours City down at the top of the table and cement their own second place finish this year. We still hanker on hopes of another Champions League adventure ourselves, but whether our ‘pragmatism’ under manager Jose Mourinho will see us get there is an entirely different story.
In terms of team news, Spurs will again be without Ben Davies and Matt Doherty, but the jury remains out on the returns of Toby Alderweireld and Serge Aurier as we see if there’s another chapter to the story of the ‘curious case of the Covid tests’.
Smoke, mirrors, behind the scenes shenanigans – we just have to hope the real Spurs show up, or this could get ugly. Or is that uglier?
In football as in life: Do it the right way. Live and play so that you will look back in pride at the way you did it.
We want to attack, we want to attack
We’re Man United, we want to attack!
Sung by United fans after a dire team performance, away to Palace, under Van Gall.
Not long after that, they became as equally frustrated with their poor, dull and negative, over-defensive football under JM…
United fans, as with Spurs fans, don’t do dull!
See, the Manc’s are human after all! Just like us Spurs supporters… LOL!
Strange. Almost unreal!
Even the great Liverpool hero Kenny Dalglish, as Liverpool manager, was fired not long after taking over as boss. Why? It was because of the dire football his Liverpool team were seen to be playing at the time. They were very poor. He lasted just over a year! And hasn’t managed since…
Chelsea fired Jose. Not because he had just won the PL title again. (Surprise, surprise!) It was because the team became very quickly after… very poor. At both United and Chelsea, Jose’s players quickly stopped playing good football for him.
The only difference at Spurs is it’s happened even more quickly than at his previous clubs.
Or did I just make all this up? being the man from fantasy football land that I am?!
HT
I think we’re all clutching preverbial straws this season, I agree with your sentiments re Tobs and it was much my opinion, I still can’t fathom why he didn’t start more games this season, for me it can only be that JM was trying to use him sparingly due to his age, or, he was trying to filter him out of the squad in the knowledge that he is getting old or as we (perhaps) both suspect he is not JM’s, cup of tea.
Perhaps there is the issue, Sanches was deputising, in a very confident defence, with players who actually knew they were just about the best in the country.
Take RB position, we had Tripps and Walker, arguably still England’s best 2 RB’s, think on they are keeping out Wan Bassaka, Alexandrer Arnold, to mention a few, how in gods name did we lose both of em within 12 months +one of England’s best LB’s in Danny Rose, I am aware that he has issues but surely, surely we could’ve gotten him some help, has the same thing happened to Dele and Dier.
Just looked at those guys riding high in summer 2018 World Cup then the sky fell in on us.
Sorry M8 went off on one there. What I’m trying to say is that in my opinion, Aurier and Doh are no replacement for Walker and Tripps, and we Havnt sufficiently replaced Verts.
I am watching our defence play and I’m actually waiting for the mistake(S).
My two penneth regards our defenders, its very simple….
Keep having inviting pressure as in “park the bloody bus” or “keep what we have” increases pressure on every bloody defender you put out whether good or bad.
Continuous pressure can/does give the opposition the initiative…
Mistakes, costly as a defender
Always worrying, thus mistakes
Looking over your shoulder, again forcing mistakes
Afraid to make a mistake resulting in more mistakes, simple
Also resulting in lack of confidence, it just rolls on
Continuous pressure results in….
Luck for the opposition eventually
Worldies as their confidence grows/shoots mile high
There are probably more things/reasons but that is just a few, as to why our defenders are getting slagged off so much. COYS
I could’ve sworn I’d timered this for Wednesday? Where am I again?
not to worry, DW. There was an open thread yesterday so we could wait a day for this one. You’re thinking you’d timed (yes?) this thread for yesterday is not an indication of dementia. All is well.
Just having one of my moment I think lol
A MESSAGE FOR JOSE
You’re the ‘Special One’ they tell me,
Though the term is self imposed,
But I cannot help but wonder,
At the title which you chose.
For I’ve yet to see some exploit,
That reflects your self-esteem,
Was the title picked at random,
Or revealed within some dream.
Did you understand what’s called for,
When you came to White Hart Lane,
For the motto we all live by,
Is not heralded in vain.
There’s a history we’re proud of;
A tradition to respect,
And they need to be protected,
Not demolished by neglect.
Do you think Spurs’ fans are grateful,
At your team’s lacklustre play,
As their hopes for future glory,
Fade with every passing day.
Do you own to any weakness,
Or just simply pass the blame,
Does your character and ego,
Lack integrity and shame.
If you think you’ve been successful,
And you feel inclined to stay,
Here’s a message from the masses,
No way, Jose, no way!
query, Danny: where does Winter go when summer comes? Into some sort of topsy turvy hibernation? Does Winter sleep when the bears are out picking blackberries? when the English sit on stony beaches? When the transfer season is at its height?
Summer seems nigh this week–although not in the south of Australia. What does Winter do? Does it simply flee to another hemisphere? Or does it seek an air conditioned pub to sip a beer?
Well, I’m completely discombobulated now.
Cool runnings, Danny.
Geof, thanks for the verse. Our new tradition. may this tradition live long throughout its brevity, and in its levity. verse lightens the soul. Spurs supporters are a different breed. We nurture the soul.
The Spurs Book of Verse……available in all good bookshops Christmas 2021. 🙂
Nice one Geof and all other wordsmiths.
Jose has had a whole week to work on our tactics for this game – can you imagine, a whole week to work on parking the bus. It’s really going to be a fun watch on Sunday. Thank god for The Masters.COYS
Thank god the bus isn’t over here they’d fekin burn it.
lol…….stay safe Niall.
Shouldn’t laugh really, it’s very sad to see what has been happening over the past few evenings, would hate to see the province go back to the bad old days.
Doncasater, a whole week to work on bus parking. Wonderful insight!
If he can’t get right what he almost always does i preparation for a match, even after a week’s preparation, then he’s special in an entirely different meaning of the word.
When I was a lad in America–the other side of my frequent travels between the two side of the Atlantic, we talked of the Little Yellow School Bus for the Special Students. I wonder if that’s the way in which José is special, in which case one whole week to prepare for sitting in a parked bus may not be sufficient. He might need a lift to get onto and off the bus he’s parked.
For all of those fans talking up the performance at Old Trafford this year (a result architected by JM, ironically), let me point out that we started the game by giving away a silly goal (and as the season has gone on, this has become a bit of a trademark), and the only reason we were able to so thoroughly dominate the stat sheet in the end was because United went down to 10 men after 28 minutes.
I hope Lamela is up for another acting performance!
Has JM been special at Spurs? Perhaps not. But has his career been special? It’s hard to argue otherwise.
I won’t get into all of the titles and accolades because they are well documented.
I can understand that there is an element of arrogance to talking up your own achievements, but objectively speaking, if he isn’t entitled to call his career “special”, who is?
That depends on who you want to put him up against BS, I mean if you compared his career to that of Mother Teresa there is no contest as to who is the ‘special one’. :- )
No argument from me there.
The greatest claim for José Mourinho to being special is his arrogance. Objectively speaking? Depends on what you value, no? The greatest mass murderer could lay claim to being special in his own way. If you value winning football cups over human decency, I guess Mourinho is special in his own way, but so were various European political leaders in the 1940s. Most people who might merit such a label as the special one wouldn’t go around with this sort of self promotion. Objectively speaking? thanks for the good laugh.