shelfboy68
Well-Known Member
- Jun 14, 2008
- 14,566
- 19,651
No worries if you don't know or are not sure in relation to Leicester being a one off then I really can't help you but thanks anyway
Race for the Top 4 - 2017/18
- Thread starter am_yisrael_chai
- Start date
No worries if you don't know or are not sure in relation to Leicester being a one off then I really can't help you but thanks anyway
ajspurs
Well-Known Member
- Jul 7, 2007
- 23,153
- 31,447
To me it's never been 'on' but at the same time it hasn't been 'off' either. For a start it's just too early still I think personally. Even if we were say, 4 points behind City now, I would still say lets see how we do through the Xmas period and once we're out of that see where we are to determine if a race is truly on.
Plus for me, hopefully it won't be for long but Wembley is still a question mark against the sitting back teams. I think we're fine there against teams who will play attacking football but against the bus parkers we certainly struggle a hell of a lot more and our only wins against those teams there have been 1-0 scrapers, against Bournemouth and Palace.
I really don't mind anyway as with being at Wembley I never expected a strong title challenge. This season is still for me about getting Champions League and having us playing in it in our new stadium next season.
Roynie
Well-Known Member
- Oct 2, 2007
- 3,116
- 3,882
Just to put things in perspective with relation to results last season against this season, here are the facts:
Comparing the same matches last season and this, we have 1 more point. Last season we beat Chelsea and Burnley at home and this season lost and drew. However, the games against Liverpool and Huddersfield, which we lost last season we won this. We have a goal difference of 11 as opposed to 17 last season.
You can draw your own conclusions, but I can't hear any large lady singing yet!
Comparing the same matches last season and this, we have 1 more point. Last season we beat Chelsea and Burnley at home and this season lost and drew. However, the games against Liverpool and Huddersfield, which we lost last season we won this. We have a goal difference of 11 as opposed to 17 last season.
You can draw your own conclusions, but I can't hear any large lady singing yet!
Bobbins
SC's 14th Sexiest Male 2008
- May 5, 2005
- 21,595
- 45,136
The difference isn’t in our results, it’s in one club spending half a billion pounds, buying a squad of about 20 of the world’s best players, and walking the league.
spursfan77
Well-Known Member
- Aug 13, 2005
- 46,680
- 104,957
Exactly.
I think that defeat against arsenal has probably done it now. We can’t afford to lose more than one more game for the rest of the season. That’s a massive ask.
Dougal
Staff
- Jun 4, 2004
- 60,361
- 130,103
- Staff
- #666
I realised something that really pisses me off is when pricks like Martin Tyler decide to fill in a few seconds of airtime every once in a while by talking about Spurs, in the past, having a ‘soft underbelly’. Basically saying we’re between being shit and winning stuff. We get it. You don’t get anyone reminding Chelsea and Man City where they came from though, and they were worse than us! How many mentions of a League 1 play off final these days? Or ‘Save Our Bridge’? Nope, the billionaires arrived so the rest is buried under an avalanche of cash. We’ve changed our whole club yet you’d swear we had just added a couple of signings since Gerry Francis left. We sit 4th today, and already the table looks a bit funny because we’re so low.
ClintEastwould
Well-Known Member
- Jul 3, 2012
- 4,748
- 9,845
We have been utterly destroyed by injuries. Not a chance we'd be so far behind if our players weren't dropping like flies this season. For the third season running we have looked into the pot of luck and found a churning black coal.
PeeEyeEmPee
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 1,925
- 3,125
a few things in response to some of what I've read over the last few pages:
focusing on City in the way some seem to be doing makes it look like they're the only ones standing between us and a league title, and that simply isn't the case. as I've said repeatedly before, the problem is that, in our excitement at being in 2nd/3rd for the first time in forever, most of us appear to have fooled ourselves into believing we've spent the last two seasons in a title race. we haven't at all. there's nothing wrong with that, of course, just as there's nothing wrong with us not being in one now, but I think our expectations just need to be a bit more realistic. whether it's City, Chelsea, Leicester or anyone leading the way, we've never been able to get close enough. we don't have a team/squad good enough to challenge for the league at all, and until we bring in some more genuine quality, improve our mentality, and stop consoling ourselves with ultimately meaningless (relatively speaking) achievements like having the highest points total over 2 seasons or conceding the fewest goals etc, it's exactly how things will stay. I don't necessarily have a problem with that, because even if we get EVERYTHING right, there's still the likelihood of being outperformed by the richer teams anyway.
we really need to change our attitude towards the domestic cups. they're BY FAR our most realistic chance of winning some silverware. they won't be enough on their own to keep our better players by any means, but they will at least give the team experience of actual winning.
I keep hearing that we can't afford to enter next season without CL football, but I really can't see why it would be a disaster. if anything, it might improve our chances of winning the league in our first season at our new ground. there are 6 teams annually fighting for 4 CL spots, so our financial model being built on qualifying every single season would be nothing short of lunacy. like him or loathe him, Daniel Levy didn't get to where is today by being a lunatic, so I'd imagine we'd be able to survive pretty comfortably for at least one year before it all came crashing down.
yes City spent a shitload in the summer, but with the exception of Ederson (who has made a massive difference) and to a lesser degree Walker, their improvement has largely been down to the players that were already there. the sums they spend are always going to look insane, but it's not as though the list of names they brought in (Ederson, Walker, Mendy, Danilo, Bernado Silva) was particularly impressive on paper, they've just been forced to pay way over the odds because of who they are.
there was more, but even I'm bored now, so congrats if you made it this far
focusing on City in the way some seem to be doing makes it look like they're the only ones standing between us and a league title, and that simply isn't the case. as I've said repeatedly before, the problem is that, in our excitement at being in 2nd/3rd for the first time in forever, most of us appear to have fooled ourselves into believing we've spent the last two seasons in a title race. we haven't at all. there's nothing wrong with that, of course, just as there's nothing wrong with us not being in one now, but I think our expectations just need to be a bit more realistic. whether it's City, Chelsea, Leicester or anyone leading the way, we've never been able to get close enough. we don't have a team/squad good enough to challenge for the league at all, and until we bring in some more genuine quality, improve our mentality, and stop consoling ourselves with ultimately meaningless (relatively speaking) achievements like having the highest points total over 2 seasons or conceding the fewest goals etc, it's exactly how things will stay. I don't necessarily have a problem with that, because even if we get EVERYTHING right, there's still the likelihood of being outperformed by the richer teams anyway.
we really need to change our attitude towards the domestic cups. they're BY FAR our most realistic chance of winning some silverware. they won't be enough on their own to keep our better players by any means, but they will at least give the team experience of actual winning.
I keep hearing that we can't afford to enter next season without CL football, but I really can't see why it would be a disaster. if anything, it might improve our chances of winning the league in our first season at our new ground. there are 6 teams annually fighting for 4 CL spots, so our financial model being built on qualifying every single season would be nothing short of lunacy. like him or loathe him, Daniel Levy didn't get to where is today by being a lunatic, so I'd imagine we'd be able to survive pretty comfortably for at least one year before it all came crashing down.
yes City spent a shitload in the summer, but with the exception of Ederson (who has made a massive difference) and to a lesser degree Walker, their improvement has largely been down to the players that were already there. the sums they spend are always going to look insane, but it's not as though the list of names they brought in (Ederson, Walker, Mendy, Danilo, Bernado Silva) was particularly impressive on paper, they've just been forced to pay way over the odds because of who they are.
there was more, but even I'm bored now, so congrats if you made it this far
Wheeler Dealer
Well-Known Member
- Jul 29, 2011
- 6,924
- 12,436
We struggle to win domestic cups because in the semi or the final, we'll come up against our closest rivals and then fail to turn up
SpursDave88
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 2,193
- 5,831
Exactly! We didn't "struggle" in the FA cup, we got to the semi-final and then were beaten by Chelsea who didn't make silly mistakes by giving away silly penalties.
SpursDave88
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 2,193
- 5,831
We were very much in the race against Leicester, we blew 3 chances to go top if I remember correctly and once the chance was gone we threw the last two matches. So you are very very wrong to say we were never able to get close enough.
I do think we've now missed our chance to win the league with this squad. The breakup began last summer with the sale of Walker.
Roynie
Well-Known Member
- Oct 2, 2007
- 3,116
- 3,882
PeeEyeEmPee
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 1,925
- 3,125
ok we got to within a couple of points of them for two weeks, and they then comfortably pulled away again. still not much of a "race" IMO, as we never managed to put any kind of serious or sustained pressure on them.
Hazardousman
Audere est Facere
- Jul 24, 2013
- 4,619
- 8,944
I said a few weeks ago I didn't think there was a bias against spurs in particular but I must say that after that Arsenal game and the way all the pundits were going on (playing down the offside and the free kick, the way Tyler and company constantly want to talk about us selling players or like you say, going on about the past) I have no doubt whatsoever that certain people in the media have their knives out for us and are wishing it all falls apart.
I couldn't care less what they say quite frankly but the problem is, the players all read this stuff, watch this stuff and the media have far more influence than many care to admit.
Money has ruined the game in this country, ruined it.
PeeEyeEmPee
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 1,925
- 3,125
again with the conspiracy theories and everyone hates us mentality. maybe people would stop making these references if we became known for winning things again, instead of still playing into the "soft underbelly" stuff every time we get a whiff of success. just a hunch....
WiganSpur
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 15,982
- 32,698
Injuries are an inevitability when you have European football, especially CL when you don't have the option of fielding a second string. The difference between City and everyone else, (especially us) is their outrageous depth. They've had injuries too but they've coped much better than us.
If Aguero is out they have Jesus and vice versa. And even if both were out Guardiola has so much quality at his disposal that Sterling/Sane would slot in fine as a false 9. Bernardo Silva has barely played all season and that tells you everything you need to know.
The only position we can cope with injuries in is probably defence at the moment.
If there's any team from what you'd say is the usual top 6 now who doesn't get into Europe then i'm making them favourites for the league the following season.
We will not win the league unless we have both adequate numbers and strength in depth, or we are not playing European football. Would Sissoko, Llorente, Nkoudou and Janssen get anywhere near the teams of our top 6 rivals? The answer is a categoric no and that's where we are falling short. If we want to win the league, it's crucial that the scouting team get to work to unearth some gems instead of some of the duds we've been getting.
Hazardousman
Audere est Facere
- Jul 24, 2013
- 4,619
- 8,944
Nobody is talking about "conspiracy theories" (other than the people on here who constantly accuse others of being conspiracy theorists everytime they see someone say something they disagree with.)
You have to literally be blind, deaf and dumb at this point to not acknowledge the fact that some people in the media are unprofessional and allow their personal bias to influence what they say on TV, radio or print.
This isn't a "Everyone is out to get spurs" conspiracy theory, this is a "Most media personalities in football on TV, radio or print allow their personal bias to affect the things they say and most of it is utter nonsense."
Unfortunatly for us, that utter nonense gets reprinted and brought out time and time again because the media are either too lazy to think of something new and original or because certain pundits are willing certain teams to fail (not just us) and they think if they say it enough, it will happen and they will get their "I told you so" moment.
This is pretty common knowledge at this point, not a conspiracy theory, it's boring to keep seeing people bang on about conspiracy theories just to try and discredit someones perspective as nonsensical.
Certain pundits hate us, just like certain pundits probably hate other clubs as well, this isn't some big revelation or conspiracy theory, it's just them allowing their bias to overrule their professionalism.
Hazardousman
Audere est Facere
- Jul 24, 2013
- 4,619
- 8,944
We could have gone top when we played Arsenal that season, we actually were top for 10 mins, instead we blew it and let a 10 man Arsenal draw the game, we were in the race but mentally we imploded, we should have won that game and we didn't, the rest was history after that.
RichieS
Well-Known Member
- Dec 23, 2004
- 11,916
- 16,436
Nkoudou and Janssen don't get anywhere near our team and Conte was desperate to sign Llorente for Chelsea, so... Sissoko's only in the side because Wanyama, Alderweireld, Winks and Lamela are varying degrees of injured. That said, we could have played Son off Kane from the start and dropped Alli into the midfield on Sunday, so Big Mouss must be doing something right on the training pitch.
