Vital Spurs Debate Section

Somewhere between the optimism and the pessimism of Spurs supporters lies the truth. Draw Your Own Conclusions.

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Tottenham: Draw Your Own Conclusions.

Somewhere between the optimism and the pessimism of Spurs supporters lies the truth. I’m not sure where but if you look hard enough, you’ll find a sense of it. In the last few days Spurs have been knocked out of two cup competitions and won in the PL for the eighteenth time in 24 games. I’m not going to mention the lack of draws. Oops. We are now at least seven points in front of Chelsea, Arsenal and United …. seven points! From what has been said in the media, by pundits, and by our own supporters, those three clubs must be absolute rubbish. Either that or, given our injury woes and all the things we complain about, we are much better than we think.

We have recently lost Kane, Dele, Son, Sissoko, Moura, the League Cup and the FA Cup. Losing those players for a while is obviously not in our best interests. We’ve managed without Kane a few times and we’ve managed without Dele …. but few clubs could be expected to maintain form when missing so many key players at the same time. Even TW activity can’t adequately address that problem.

The chance for domestic silverware has gone for this season but, at the start of the season, the majority of Spurs supporters were looking for a top four finish in the league and a good run in other competitions. The one remaining Cup competition is the CL and our opportunity there will probably depend on the availability of certain players. But the opportunity to finish fourth or higher has, despite any obstacles, not wavered as the season has progressed. We have more points at this stage of a PL season than ever before …. and yet some supporters continue to moan about that progress. Of course we could have done better in the Cups …. but we could also have done a lot worse in the league. Which is the most important has mixed opinions. Swings and roundabouts!

Personally I enjoy watching our patient possession game, with quick bursts of forward activity. I love the midfield passing that moves the ball in almost mathematical patterns as the opposition chase ghosts. But I get just as frustrated as anyone else when the ball is held up repeatedly instead of attempting an early cross into the box or a shot on goal when it seems the percentage thing to do. But ‘possession’ is the way Spurs play and they are very good at it. More than that, all squad members understand what is required to produce a ‘team’ performance.

One thing we don’t do well was highlighted against Watford. We don’t know how to play to a more conventional striker …. such as Llorente (Soldado?). Throughout the game Llorente kept finding positions ‘that suited him’ and called for the ball. The midfielders continually ignored him. When the midfielders did give him the ball he wasn’t ready. There was absolutely no understanding between them. It’s simply not the way we play. But that’s something MP can sort out …. if he wants to.

So, with fourteen games remaining, we are seven points below Pool, two points below City and seven points in front of the rest …. effectively eight points if we factor in the GD. The clubs around us will continue to drop points against each other and, although we will drop points as well, there is every reason to expect that we will be right up there and sitting pretty when it’s all over.

The odds of enjoying CL football in our first season at the ‘New Lane’ look …. odds on. Surely that is now the priority. So despite all the fluctuating optimism and pessimism from this site we seem to be sitting in a remarkably comfortable position on the table. How did this happen? Draw your own conclusions …. but study the league table first because that’s where the answer lies.

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