Tottenham’s Winning Ways.
There are 38 games in a Premier League season. Spurs have already won half of them with just 13 more games to go. There are lots of ways for a team to win a football match and Spurs have demonstrated them all.
A team can obliterate the opposition with a dominant performance. A team can struggle with an opposing team who are of similar ilk. A team can win the game early. A team can win the game late. A team can win a game they don’t deserve to, or a team can win through on penalties.
Much of it depends on the opposition. Teams that park the bus are difficult to break down and the challenge is to find a way to get that all important goal, patience being the key. Spurs have done that a few times lately. These are the games played against opposition who realise they do not have the squad to compete in a true footballing sense against a squad with superior skills.
Where the opposing teams are more evenly matched the games are often played differently … more the way we all would like to see the game played, with both teams going head to head. These are the games against our main rivals and winning them provides greater satisfaction because they are rivals.
The joy of a win is enhanced by the team we beat. Beating Burnley by five goals would not be better than beating Arsenal by one goal for most Spurs supporters.
The importance of winning a particular match is also a factor in ‘supporter excitement’! Cup Finals (remember those?) and European games are considered ‘must win’ games and intensify the joy of winning and the emotional roller coaster ride as the game progresses.
There are so many ‘winning ways’ and they all bring their own level of enjoyment and emotion. To score three goals in the first thirty minutes against a team in the lower half of the table effectively ends the contest as the emotion of fear that comes with the possibility of defeat is removed.
To concede a couple of goals early in a game and then come back to win in the dying seconds leaves supporters on a high due to the intensity of emotion, and can feel like they’ve just climbed Everest …. which is pretty much how I felt in beating Watford and Newcastle with very late goals!
All of these ‘winning ways’ are what makes every football match such an emotional experience for supporters. An easy game can be relaxing and enjoyed almost at leisure. A more difficult game can take supporters to the extremes of frustration, anger, joy, excitement …. and close to heart-attack territory.
Personally, a late winner when the game seems lost is something that leaves me breathless when the final whistle goes but then, like most supporters, as long as we win ….!
So, apart from just win, win, win …. which kind of win does the most to rock your boat??